Make:

Lawsuit for destruction of currency not included ;)

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Obligatory: I want one!

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My dad, a great maker (built 2 fireplaces, a front and back porch on our home, built me a go cart from a lawnmower when I was little) finds coins like this in washers and dryers all the time when he repairs them and loose change has gotten into one of the parts, All I have to do is drill them out to make a ring now.

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Wasn't this on here once before? Even if it was it is still great. I just finished my third one. By the way, it's not actually illegal to deface coins. They have actual intrinsic value which means any coins you have in your pocket belong to you and not the government. Bills on the other hand aren't worth anything and therefore are government documents standing in for something more solid, and therefore defacing them is illegal. This is actually a big arguement on the tons of other sites to have hosted this mod including hack-a-day, Fink built, and maybe even readymademag. Someone eventually always ends up posting a website with the article questioning the legality of defacing legal tender along with one interview with some treasurer or something.

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Just remember that most coins contain nickel and using these rings close to the skin could cause allergy.

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Can anyone tell me how much the diameter of the coins typically reduce when making these rings? What coins should one use for particular ring sizes? I assume a quater would yeild a ring suitable for an average sized man's finger. How about for a woman's or a child's - nickels & dimes respectively?

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I will try to answer a few questions.
Yes you might have seen this before here, I posted my instructions to a post because the other site was not working.
A good source for coins are the junk bins at a local coin shop. They are dinged up or otherwise not collectable quality. I can get 2 half dollars for about 5 bucks. As long as the lettering and date are readable, they will work. Franklins (1948-63) usualy loose the date when they are drilled out.

rikster- I use 50c US coins for a couple reasons. They are 90% Silver if dated 1964 or earlier. And they make a decent sized mens or womans ring. Sized for my finger, they are about 1/4 inch fat and about 14/16th of an inch OD, and about 3/4 inch ID. I tried to make a thinner ring for my wife with a Quarter (again 64 or earlier) but it was tough to drill it big enough to fit her finger. Nickes are not silver and won't work. Dimes might if again 64 or earlier, but would end up infant sized I think.

o-tang- I use only 90% silver 10% copper coins. Very close to sterling which is 92.5% silver. No problems with reaction for most people.

And it is not illegal to do this to coins. As long as you are not altering the coin to increase the marked price on the coin or mintmark. This is no worse than melting down silver coins when their value increases beyond their face value.

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Not too bad! I learned how to make these a while back, even though I messed the first one up pretty bad. I now make them and sell them online and locally, if you are interested in saving yourself a few hours and some hammered fingers, e-mail me at coinrings@gmail.com

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hope somebody gets this to answer my question.
how did you get it to look so damn smooth?

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Sandra, the smoothing is done one of two ways. Using light hammer strikes to work the metal smooth, or you can use sandpaper. I would start with 400grit and work your way to 800-1000 grit. Then use a polishing kit to polish the ring to a high luster. I use automotive grade sandpaper and a dremel polishing kit for mine. Both at available at most Walmart's and run about 18.00 everything, you could easily make 40-50 rings from this 18.00 worth of supplies.

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it dont matter how many people i see that can make rings out of silver coins no one takes more pride and nobody comes close to making them as good as me but good job for trying

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My pop told me once Sailors made Coin rings during WW2 on ships. They used a heavy spoon from the kitchen for tapping. I've done the same. To me it's very relaxing

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My pop told me once Sailors made Coin rings during WW2 on ships. They used a heavy spoon from the kitchen for tapping. I've done the same. To me it's very relaxing

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not currency has intrinsic value

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not currency has intrinsic value

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If I ever did that to a coin my coin collecting friend would deface me......

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Posted by: dokein on March 21, 2008 at 11:37 AM

@ Cathaholic

Actually, according to a 2006 law it is illegal to deface pennies and nickels by means of melting them down for profit. Fortunately, if it is for "educational, amusement, novelty, jewelry, and similar purposes as long as the volumes treated and the nature of the treatment makes it clear that such treatment is not intended as a means by which to profit solely from the value of the metal content of the coins" (from title 30, part 82 of the US Code of Federal Regulations)

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