Coins were first invented around the year 700 B.C. and were produced by the hammer-struck method. A workman used a hammer to reduce the thickness of a sheet of metal, in which the blanks were then cut out by shears, then filed and hammered to reach the desired weight and thickness of the coin. The coin maker then carried out the so-called striking by putting a blank on the fixed die and holding the die above by hand. He then struck several blows with a hammer to finish the coin.