Introduction and Cultural Context

• Chocolate coins = symbolic edible money in various cultures
• Christmas stockings: stuffed with chocolate coins celebrating Saint Nicholas charity
• Hanukkah: given to Jewish children to teach money value
• No purchasing power but generate appreciative smiles from kids

Raw Material Preparation

• Process starts with giant chocolate bars
• Workers transfer bars to kettle (double boiler system)
• Hot water bubbles/steams inside sleeve shell to melt chocolate
• Kettle contains 2.5 tons liquid chocolate

Tempering Process

• Machine pumps chocolate through long pipe with cooling zones
• Chocolate thickens but doesn't solidify
• Tempering creates precise crystal structure for proper texture/taste

Sheet Formation

• Thick liquid chocolate flows onto conveyor
• Broad blade levels chocolate to specific thickness
• Creates long, evenly spread chocolate sheet
• Chocolate begins coagulating/hardening

Cooling Process

• Travels through refrigeration tunnel ~15 yards long
• Journey transforms liquid chocolate to solid state

Die Cutting Operation

• Clean/prepare spring-loaded die (cookie cutter style)
• Punches out round blanks
• Key difference: cutters are long/tubular
• Blanks stack up as they're punched out
• Lattice work leftovers re-melted back into process
• Zero chocolate waste

Magazine Collection

• Dozens of coin blanks stack in each magazine
• Leftover chocolate accumulates in bin
• Transferred back to melting pot for reuse

Wrapping and Embossing

• Wrap chocolate first, then emboss wrap + blank simultaneously
• Glossy gold foil sheets travel between rollers for even tension
• Forked arm moves 2 chocolate blanks between foil sheets
• Piston-like knives wrap, cut, fold foil around blanks
• Forked arm delivers foil-wrapped blanks to die press

Die Press Operation

• Stamps designs on both sides of coins
• Makes impression on foil through to chocolate
• Chocolate still warm enough to receive image
• Die heads used for embossing (example: American penny markings)
• Foil discards collected in bin for recycling

Production Capacity

• 150,000 foil-wrapped coins per day
• Change currency type by switching die heads
• Multiple sizes with range of different illustrations available

Final Processing

• Coins spill onto conveyor to collection bin
• Packaging in traditional mesh bags
• Start to finish: <1 hour per chocolate coin
• Product varieties: gold dollars, $5 poker chips

Factory Output

• Daily jackpot of chocolate money production
• Never shortage of edible cash
• Product decision options: poker chip vs chocolate penny