DRAFT - SOW

SECTION C SPECIFICATIONS

C. 1 GENERAL SCOPE

The United States Mint (USM) has a requirement for strip in coils to be used for stamping blanks for circulating, un-circulating and proof coins. Blanking will be in the Philadelphia, PA (PH) and Denver (DN), CO Mints. Circulating and un-circulating coins stamping will be the PH and DN Mints. Proof coins stamping will be in San Francisco, CA. There are three alloy configurations: cupro-nickel, cupro-nickel clad and golden dollar clad. All coils shall be delivered in accordance with the requirements, terms, conditions, and specifications set forth herein. All delivered coils must allow the USM to produce coins that meet an overriding coinability standard such that any coil defect will not detract from the design or the integrity of the struck coin.

C.2 CUPRO-NICKEL STRIP (5-Cent)

C.2.A.1 Material Specifications for Cupro-Nickel Strip

Element

All numerical expressions are weight percents.

C.2.A.3 Surface:

The coinage strip shall be free of delaminations, tarnish, rolled-in or baked-on oxides, dirt, oils (a very light film of residual sulfur-free rolling oil is permissible), heavy scratches, gouges, blisters, manufactured slivers, rolled-in material and other surface defects that may produce unacceptable coins, (in the opinion of the Mint). Strip edges shall be fully trimmed and smooth. All strip ends shall be trimmed. The surface roughness for (circulating) 5-cent strip is 15Ra MAX.

C.2.A.4 Ductility:

Strip shall be such that planchets cut there from and annealed shall have the necessary ductility to withstand 180-degree bend and subsequent flattening, without evidence of crack on the bend.

C.2.B.1 Coil Specifications for Cupro-Nickel Strip

C.1.B.2 Units and Winding

Each coil shall be in one piece and shall be tightly blocker wound.

C.2.B.3 Welds

Welds are not allowed.

C.3 CUPRO-NICKEL-CLAD STRIP (10, 25, and 50-Cent)

C.3.A.1 Material Specifications for Cupro-Nickel-Clad Strip

Strip shall be a composite three-layer material, copper core with two exterior layers of cupronickel metallurgically bonded to the core without the introduction of foreign materials. Overall material composition shall be as follows:

Element

(67%)

Oxygen

0.06% max.

All numerical expressions are weight percents.

C.3.A.2 Surface:

The coinage strip shall be of uniform high quality and free of such defects as slivers, seams, cracks, dents, blisters, and bent or damaged edges. Surface shall be clean and smooth, free of roll marks, delaminations, tarnish, rolled-in or baked-on oxides, dirt, oils (a very light film or residual sulfur-free rolling oil is permissible), or other surface defects that may produce unacceptable coins, (in the opinion of the Mint). Strip edges shall be fully trimmed and smooth. All strip ends shall be trimmed. The surface roughness for circulating clad strip is 15Ra MAX.

C.3.A.3 Clad Bond Strength:

The bond between the exterior layers and the core shall be strong enough to withstand a 1800 bend test on as-received strip without any evidence of delaminating. This test is cited in E.4.

C.3.B.1 Cladding Strip Specifications for Cupro-Nickel-Clad Strip The strip will be of the following gauge for each coil delivered under this contract and, suitable for the manufacturing of clad coins.

C.3.B.1 (a): For Cupro-Nickel-Clad, typical clad layer thickness on any side measured shall be of uniform thickness, which shall not vary by more than 0.015mm (0.0006").

C.3.C.1 Coil Specifications for Cupro-Nickel-Clad Strip

Coils shall weigh a minimum of 1361 kg to the maximum extent possible. At least 90% of the total contract coils shall weigh a minimum of 1360 kg and the remaining coils shall weigh a minimum of 500 kg.

C.3.C.2 Units and Winding

Each coil shall be in one piece and shall be tightly blocker wound.

C.3.C.3 Welds

Welds are not allowed

C.4 NICKEL-MANGANESE-BRASS-CLAD STRIP ($1 GOLDEN DOLLAR)

C.4.A.1 Material Specifications for Nickel-Manganese-Brass-Clad Strip

Strip shall be a composite three-layer material, copper core with two exterior layers of nickel manganese brass, metallurgically bonded to the core without the introduction of foreign materials. Overall material composition shall be as follows:

Element

(50%)

Oxygen

0.06% max.

All numerical expressions are weight percents.

C.4.A.2 Surface:

The coinage strip shall be of uniform high quality and free of such defects as slivers, seams, cracks, dents, blisters, and bent or damaged edges. Surface shall be clean and smooth, free of roll marks, delaminations, tarnish, rolled-in or baked-on oxides, dirt, oils (a very light film or residual sulfur-free rolling oil is permissible), or other surface defects that may produce unacceptable coins, (in the opinion of the Mint). Strip edges shall be fully trimmed and smooth. All strip ends shall be trimmed. The surface roughness for clad strip is 15Ra MAX.

C.4.A.3 Clad Bond Strength:

The bond between the exterior layers and the core shall be strong enough to withstand a 900 bend test on as-received strip without any evidence of delaminating. This test is cited in E.4.

C.4.B.1 Cladding Strip Specifications for Nickel-Manganese-Brass-Clad Strip The strip will be of the following gauge, suitable for the manufacturing of clad coins.

C.4.B.1 (a): For $1Golden Dollar, typical clad layer thickness on any side measured shall be of uniform thickness, which shall not vary by more than 0.038mm (0.0015").

Coils shall weigh a minimum of 1361 kg to the maximum extent possible. At least 75% of the total contract coils shall weigh a minimum of 1360 kg and the remaining coils shall weigh a minimum of 500 kg.

C.4.C.2 Units and Winding Each coil shall be in one piece and shall be tightly blocker wound.

C.4.C.3 Welds

Welds are not allowed

b. The following surface roughness values shall apply to the proof coin strip.

c. HARD PARTICLE:

The United States Mint’s goal is to receive cut blanks for proof coinage that require no processing beyond material treatment and no polishing of the die required prior to reaching 2,000 good coins. To that end, in the event that the strip material does not perform satisfactorily (as determined by the United States Mint), in terms of good coins before die polish/retirement, the United States Mint reserves the right to reject the material as proof strip, (use it as Circulating stock where possible), and require the supplier’s cooperation in developing an acceptable product.

For informational purposes the United States Mint’s Hard Particle Measurement Plan is attached (Attachment J-3).

C.6 SCRAP MATERIAL

The strip material purchased under this contract shall be totally recyclable. The scrap cupro-nickel and cupro- nickel-clad material can be re-melted, re-alloyed and reused as cupro-nickel strip or as the outer layers for the cupro-nickel-clad strip. The nickel manganese brass scrap can be recycled as the outer layers for $1 Golden Dollar strip. (The core of the clad strip is always pure copper, see Sections C.3.A.1.

For purposes of this contract there are two distinct types of scrap material. Web scrap generated by the blanking process and Condemned Coins and Blanks and Mutilated or Un-Current (C, C & B, M or U), scrapped as coins or blanks. When the C, C & B, M or U is de-faced or de-formed it can be commingled with and will be classified as web scrap; although, all Condemned Coins and Blanks and Mutilated or Un-Current received by the contractor should be melted at the contractor’s facility. All scrap material will be returned for a credit under sections B.(2-6).F, G, or H. The Contractor shall be required to receive and accept all scrap material returns from the United States Mint.

C.6.1 WEB SCRAP

Web scrap or webbing or blanking scrap is the strip pieces and slivers of material between the finished planchets or blanks. The blanking process yields 73-78% quantity of planchets from a given quantity of strip. In addition to the blanking scrap, the beginning and tail sections of the coil are unusable to produce blanks. The overall net yield of blanks and web scrap depend on the blanking die yield. For purposes of this contract, the following table lists the nominal blank yield and web scrap percentages.

The United States Mint may return any United States Mint alloy strip material. The Contractor agrees to accept all quantities returned by the U.S. Mint. The transportation and handling costs for all web scrap shall be the responsibility and expense of the Contractor and shall be factored into the Contractor’s scrap credit price.

The estimated web scrap from each coil will be returned to the Contractor at various intervals during the term of the contract. The scrap will be of the same nominal alloy as the strip received. All scrap will be returned to the Contractor for a credit under sections B.(2-6).F, G or H. This scrap may be in any form as specified in B.7. It is estimated, that all web scrap will be returned within 90 days after completion of this contract.

C.6.1.a RETURN OF WEB SCRAP

Arrangements for the return of web scrap and the cost of transportation shall be the responsibility of the Contractor.

Due to limited storage space in the United States Mint’s, the Contractor shall furnish an adequate number of containers to handle the scrap to be generated. The number of containers shall be based on overall level of strip orders, rate of return of empty containers, and individual capacity of the container. If the Contractor fails to furnish sufficient containers, the United States Mint will place the web scrap in United States Mint owned containers and move it to an off-site storage area. The Contractor shall transfer the scrap from the United States Mint owned containers to the Contractor’s containers. The Contractor shall be responsible for all transportation charges for moving the containers to the off-site area, cost of storing the web scrap and transfer of web scrap from United States Mint owned containers, and transportation charges for the return of the United States Mint owned containers.

At the option of either United States Mint location, with supplier agreement, standard over-the-road trailers may be substituted for use as scrap containers.

Scrap will be placed in containers furnished by the Contractor. The containers shall conform to the following specifications:

a. Containers shall be boxed-shaped. Round containers are not acceptable.

b. Containers shall be capable of holding a minimum of 1,633kg and a maximum of 2,268kg, of scrap.

c. Containers shall be self-palletized.

d. Philadelphia and Denver operate under differing material handling capabilities and space constraints. This requires the use of different-sized containers at each location. Containers to be furnished by the Contractor to each facility shall conform to the following minimum and maximum dimensions:

C.6.1.b Scrap Containers Dimensions

Denver (Maximum)

Philadelphia (Minimum)

Philadelphia (Maximum)

*Rails on underside must run width of the container.

Denver

Philadelphia

Two types of rejected blanks or coins:

C 6.B.2 (a) Condemned Coins and Blanks (C, C & B) are coins or blanks rejected by the U.S. Mint during the coining process for various quality reasons. Condemned coins and blanks generally match the physical dimensions of US coinage and are therefore redeemable in vending machines. All waffled or deformed coins or blanks returned to the Contractor shall be melted at the Contractor’s facility. Miss-strikes and mixed denomination coins or blanks have novelty value as “error coins” within the numismatic community and potential embarrassment to the United States Mint and therefore the Contractor must take all necessary precautions to ensure that the all coins and/or blanks returned are melted at the Contractor’s facility.

C 5.B.2 (b) Mutilated or non-current U.S. coinage are coins previously in general circulation that have been returned for redemption to the U.S. Mint through the Federal banking system due to unsuitability for continued use as U.S. coinage. Generally, the coins are badly worn or fused due to fire or application of extreme pressure.

C.7 SECURITY MELTS

The U.S. Mint requires the ability to schedule special “security melts” at the Contractor’s facility. The United States Mint shall return condemned coins and blanks and mutilated or non current coinage to the Contractor to be melted into their basic metal components. This material is determined to be of a sensitive nature and so to ensure proper control these melts will be accompanied and supervised by U.S. Mint Police.

The material will be treated as scrap under Sections B.2.F through H Scrap Credit.

The Denver and Philadelphia United States Mint’s will arrange for the trucks and transportation costs for this material and will be paid by the United States Mint.

The mutilated/condemned coins/blanks will be delivered to the Contractor in sealed containers (closed lid, metal banded boxes or alternate acceptable containers). All containers of denominations 10-cent and higher will be shipped in the locked trailer of an Armored Carrier, (accompanied by two armed drivers). Each container shall be labeled with the following: the net weight in LB’s and kg’s, the coin denomination, and box or bag number. A United States Mint Police Officer will supervise the un-sealing of the containers and the melting process at the Contractor’s facility. The melting process will not commence without U. S. Mint Police authorization. Transportation costs for this material will be paid by the United States Mint.

Each container will be segregated by USM alloy: Cupro-Nickel (5cent); Cupro-Nickel Clad (10, 25 and 50-cent) and Nickel-Manganese-Brass-Clad ($1 Dollar). Mixed containers of Cupro-Nickel and Cupro-Nickel Clad (5-cent and 10, 25, and 50-cent) coins/blanks must be clearly marked and will be assumed to be clad for Accountability Composition - Melt purposes. $1 Manganese Brass Clad coins/blanks must always be maintained separately.

Scrap credit will be received on the basis of the following, see Table 1. The Contractor will furnish Virgin Metal Nickel based on the Additional Nickel Required percentages to create Cupro-nickel alloy.

Accountability Composition – Melts Table 1

Alloy

Copper %

Nickel %

Zinc %

Mn % Additional Nickel Required

.1667

.1667

.1667

Mixed $.05/.10/.25/.50

.9167

.0833

.1667

* $ .01 - The order will include an assay report for each melt. For purposes of accountability, the composition of the material will be credited to the United States Mint account on the basis of overall average copper content with the balance zinc.

C.8 PROCESSING LOSSES/WASTE

All metal required for processing losses or waste incurred by the Contractor shall be provided by the Contractor at no cost to the United States Mint.

C.9 VIRGIN METAL SPECIFICATIONS

For raw metal provided under sections B.2 (1- 3).E, Metal Acquisition Charges, the Contractor shall acquire virgin copper, nickel and zinc to supplement the US Mint alloy scrap material returned by the United States Mint for a credit. The specifications for the acquired virgin material are:

C.9.1 COPPER

C.9.1.a ELECTROLYTIC COPPER

Copper electrolytic, full plate cathode in conformance with ASTM B11593 Grade #1, classified as "CATH" in ASTM B22492. Minimum copper content shall be 99.9% and free of all foreign matter such as dirt, grease, oil, compounds of copper, and not excessively nodulated.

OR

C.9.1.b ELECTROWON COPPER

Copper electrowon, cathode in conformance with (ASTM) B115-93 Grade #1, classified as "CATH" in (ASTM) B224-73. Minimum copper content shall be 99.9% and free of all foreign matter such as dirt, grease, oil, compounds of copper, and not excessively nodulated.

C.9.2 NICKEL

C.9.2.a. ELECTROLYTIC NICKEL

Electrolytic cut NICKEL cathodes, briquettes, pellets or discs in conformance with ASTM B3979, except that carbon shall not exceed 0.03% maximum.

C.9.3 ZINC

C.9.3.a SPECIAL HIGH GRADE ZINC

Special High Grade (SHG) ZINC in conformance with ANSI/ASTM B687 or ANSI/ASTM B6-95a, standard slab or ingot; eighteen (18) to twenty-seven (27) kilograms each and free from surface corrosion and adhering foreign matter.

C.9.4. ASTM SPECIFICATIONS

Copies of ASTM specifications may be obtained by writing to:

American Society for Testing and Materials 1916 Race Street Philadelphia, PA 19103 Telephone No.: (215) 299-5585

C.9.5 CERTIFICATE OF ANALYSIS

"CERTIFICATE OF ANALYSIS” for each incoming shipment should be available for Government review upon request.

C.9.6 ALLOWABLE SOURCES FOR RAW METALS

Raw metals procured under this contract shall be purchased by the contractor in accordance with the Buy America Act, the Trade Agreements Act, and any applicable Executive Orders as defined in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (‘FAR”) provisions entitled “Foreign Acquisition” found in Section 25 of the FAR. In addition, the contactor shall ensure that no raw metals are procured from any source that is listed as a prohibited source under FAR 25.7, including any amendments to FAR 25.7 during the entire term of the contract.

Under FAR 25.104(a), entitled “Non-available articles,” “[t]he following articles have been determined to be non-available in accordance with 25.103(b)(1)(i)”:

“Manganese” and “Nickel, primary, in ingots, pigs, shots, cathodes, or similar forms;”

In addition, under these regulations, a “Designated country” currently means any of the following countries:

(1) A World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement country (“WTO GPA”) (Aruba, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea (Republic of), Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, or United Kingdom);

(2) A Free Trade Agreement country (FTA) (Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Morocco, Nicaragua, or Singapore);

(3) A least developed country (Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, East Timor, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kiribati, Laos, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Tanzania, Togo, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Yemen, or Zambia);

or

(4) A Caribbean Basin country (Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, or Trinidad and Tobago).

“Designated country end product” means a WTO GPA country end product, an FTA country end product, a least developed country end product, or a Caribbean Basin country end product.

C.10 GENERAL STRIP SPECIFICATIONS:

All strip products supplied under this contract shall be in compliance with ASTM-B248-06 Standard Specification for General Requirements for Wrought Copper and Copper-Alloy Plate, Sheet, Strip, and Rolled Bar.

[END OF SECTION]

DRAFT – STATEMENT OF WORK

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