Coins as Jewelry

Cha-Ching is a Pittsburgh-based business whose proprietor specializes in converting typical coins into various forms of jewelry. We found her table at the city’s central street market. The majority of pieces were earrings, bracelets and necklaces- the central focal point of each is a coin with most accompanied by beads or metal rings, etc.

While I take certain issue with the method of piercing coins with a hole in order to string a chain or rope through it, the practice is an excellent way to appreciate coins from a non-collector point of view. As long as the coin will always be used as jewelry, the value of the coin is actually quite high compared with the numismatic value of it.

When she found out that I have tons of extra coins that she might be interested in, she wrote her email address on her card and asked me to get in touch with her and suggested that if there was something that we were interested in, perhaps the value of the coins that she might want out of my collection could be put toward a purchase. Of course my better half was very excited- as there were no Dutch coins there, and I have several hundred that could easily be made into a bracelet.

Last night, I enlisted the better half to suggest which coins might make good candidates for jewelry. Most of the ones she picked had flowers or birds on them. I’m including the new US ‘shield’ pennies, of which I have several hundred. The older Singapore coins, with sea-animals are some of my favorite and I have a hard time parting with them, but at least I have several more in my collection.

The owner of Cha-Ching, Suzy, is meeting us tonight to evaluate our picks. Hopefully, out of the three pounds of coins, there is enough to equal the price of a nice bracelet made of Dutch coins, plus some left over.

Her business website is something that can’t be missed: http://www.chachingcoinjewelry.com

The Man Who Could Stop the Mint

This is a great story from PCGS website:

Bill Dickerson - March 14, 2011

Throughout the years, many interesting tales filled with history and romance have been linked to coins of the United States. One of the most notable is the one about Josh Tatum, who single-handedly caused the Mint to stop production of the nickel. The following story contains the facts surrounding what took place at that time.

In 1883, the Mint changed the design of the five cent piece. In doing so, it unknowingly presented a great opportunity to an "enterprising" young man by the name of Josh Tatum.

Mr. Tatum noticed that the new nickel was about the same size as the five dollar gold coin. He also realized that there was nothing on the coin to denote what the denomination was. The coin, which was originally named the Liberty nickel, would soon become known as the "V" nickel due to the fact that a large Roman numeral for "five" was stamped on the reverse of the coin. Young Tatum must have really become excited when he realized the potential our newest coin offered. He went right to work and struck up a partnership with a friend who was skilled in the art of electroplating over base metal. Using a 24-carat gold electroplate, they were able to convert many thousands of the new five-cent pieces into what appeared to be five-dollar gold coins.

The stage was set, and being a man of action, Josh was off and running. He went from town to town, hitting every store he could find, purchasing five-cent items. Each time he would lay down one of the newly-created "five dollar gold coins," the clerk would respond by returning $4.95 change. This was apparently a very profitable business, but as the saying goes, "All good things must come to an end," and Tatum's venture was no exception. After it was finally realized that the five dollar gold coins were only nickels, Josh was quickly apprehended and prosecuted for his crime.

A very strange thing happened in court. Tatum was acquitted of the major charge because none of the witnesses would or even could admit that he actually told them the coins were five dollar gold pieces. You see, he couldn't! Josh Tatum was a deaf mute and was unable to say anything. All he ever did was put the coins on the counter and accept, in return, the purchased five cent items and a gift of $4.95, the "change" which he happily accepted.

Tatum's efforts prompted the government to immediately suspend the minting of the new nickel and change the die to include the word "cents" under the Roman numeral "V" on the coin's reverse. By the way, many of the original electroplated coins created by Josh Tatum are still available, and many coin dealers sell what has become known as the "Racketeer" nickel, ironically for a price of $4.95.

Portrait of a Queen

Since her coronation in 1953, Queen Elizabeth II has appeared on British coinage and the coinage of the countries of which she is Head of State. The portrait is updated to reflect the Queen’s age and change in appearance. Four different effigies have been used on British coins and those of most other countries in the realm or commonwealth.

The Mary Gillick portrait was largely in use from 1953 until decimalization in Britain and Australia and roughly 1965 in most other countries such as Canada. It is one of only two portraits in regular use on coins that does not feature a crown.

Cecil Thomas designed a ‘realm portrait’ which is similar in nature and appears in the same context as that of George VI who was king before and father to Queen Elizabeth II. They bear the same crown and most of the designs of the British and realm coinage didn’t change- as is normal custom.

Arnold Machin provided the second common portrait of the Queen- this one with a crown. This was in use on all British, Australian, New Zealand ‘new’ decimal coins and in Canada. This was the most widely used portrait in all British Territorial coinage issuing bodies around the world to date. Unlike the other three common portraits, there was no variation on this portrait in any part of the Commonwealth.

Machin’s portrait is said to be a favorite of the Queen herself. When approached to pose for an updated portrait, she was most concerned about the quality of the new portrait not living up to the standards of Machin’s work.

The Machin portrait also has the distinction of longevity over the other three common portraits. It was in use for nineteen years (five more than the common portrait in use at present, as of 2011).

The third portrait comes from Raphael Maklouf and began roughly the same time everywhere between 1985 and 1986. There is a variation on the common design of the third portrait used in Britain for parts of the Commonwealth and territories; otherwise, this portrait was universal to coinage bearing the Queen’s effigy.

Canada began using a portrait designed by Dora de Pedery-Hunt in 1990. It is similar to Maklouf’s in design, but differs in orientation of the monarch. Side-by-side comparisons reveal the difference.

Maklouf era ‘realm portrait’ used for a number of commonwealth coin portraits. It replaced the Machin portrait.

The fourth and presently used effigy is the work of Ian Rank-Broadly, which has been in use on British coins since 1998. This portrait represents the first and only occurance of the designer’s initials appearing outside and separate from the effigy itself.

Canada began using a portrait similar to the Maklouf by Dora dePedery-Hunt in 1990.

In 2003, a new portrait was commissioned in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Queen’s coronation. It is by Susanna Blunt and is in use presently, but is unique to Canada. One of the more noticeable difference, aside from the actual portrait is that the Queen does not bear a crown- unlike any other presently used portrait in the world.

There are a couple variations on the present Rank-Broadly design, but none are common to circulation coins. This portrait (right) is used on a small number of commonwealth coins, including Cook Islands.

Not all of the coins bearing the effigy of Elizabeth II have changed their portraits to reflect the age of the Queen. Maundy money in Britain still retains the first Gillick portrait. Belize uses the Cecil Thomas ‘realm portrait’ on fractional coins and the Maklouf portrait on the one dollar coin.

A few coin portraits of the Queen exist on an individual basis- appearing on only one coin or one denomination- separate from the typical circulation coins:

	New Zealand issued a one dollar coin between 1979 and 1982 with such an irregular portrait. Each of the four coins have a separate portrait of the Queen from the other circulation coins issued in New Zealand during this time. This departure from the normal portrait was to commemorate the Royal Visit. The coins issued just before (1978) and just after (1983) these four, carry the Machin portrait.
	Australia issued an irregular portrait on the occasion of the Queen’s visit in 2000 on the 50-cent coin. Vladimir Gotwald was the designer of this portrait and it was one of the finalists for the 1998 update to the Queen’s effigy.
	For the duel purposes of increasing circulation and popularity of the Canadian 50-cent coin, and to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Queen’s coronation, Canada used a variation on the Cecil Thomas realm portrait. This portrait was only used in 2003 and circulated along side the new Canadian portrait of 2003.
	Gibraltar produced coins with a Maklouf variation in 2004 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the territory’s capture. This portrait was used for four years. The coins issued just before (2003) and just after (2008) the four-year commemoration, carry the Rank-Broadly portrait.
	A 2003 British five pound coin bore this portrait in honor of 50 years as Queen.

In 2008 and 2009, the isolated South Atlantic British Territory constituent of Tristan da Cunha which is part of the territories St. Helena and Ascension Island, issued coins bearing unique portraits of the Queen; a different portrait in both years. The denominations of the issue are 1/2p, 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p and 25p.

2008 Tristan da Cunha portrait	2009 Tristan da Cunha portrait

The Gillick and Maklouf portraits each lasted twelve years. The present portrait has been in use (as of 2011) for fourteen years. Given the upcoming 60th anniversary of her reign, it is reasonable to assume that a new portrait may be forthcoming.

During the course of the historic reign of Elizabeth II, the number of countries producing coins bearing her image decreased sharply. None of the coins that bear her portrait today are produced for circulation in precious metal. The last of these coins were mostly debased by 1965, with a few larger denominations, made in part of silver, existing only a few more years. In fact, the coins produced today represent the lowest intrinsic value in history with steel as the primary metal in content.

At one point, just over half the coins in production for circulation were made of silver. Now, only commemorative coins and special editions are silver.

Caveat emptor

A recent winning bid on eBay was from a seller who claimed to have bought an 85-pound bin of estate coins and then split it into 5-pound bags. My bid was for one of the 5-pound bags, but imagine my disappointment when I got the package and found nothing but corroded, badly damaged bits of metal. Based on the smell and the pattern of destruction wrought on these coins, I can only guess that they had been in a fire and sustained direct contact with large quantities of water or other fire suppression material.

The reason that I went so high in my bidding in the first place, was because usually coin lots with a story like this one have some really good finds in them. Also, the description hinted at a good possibility of some silver pieces.

The real disappointment is the fact that the coins that were in the haul were really good ones. Luckily, the seller agreed to give me a refund (including shipping), so I’m sending the haul back- silver pieces and all- with my best wishes.

Vintage Hauls

Another treasure hunter’s dream courtesy of eBay. The first came in the form of a golfing themed humidor stuffed with coins and tokens. These were first rate vintage coins, too- well, first rate for me! About a dozen or so half-penny coins from all over the British Empire were in just my first handful. In all, about 6 silver pieces and a super special 1973 date set from Greece. Along with about a dozen or so Chinese cash and bronze ‘dollar’ coins, a few German-Occupied Netherlands coins were mixed in with the bunch, too. A few Weimar Republic new year tokens turned up, and quite a handful of Nurnberg Classic Car show coins dated from 1960.

The second haul was a simple 1lb bag of mixed world coins. This was a big surprise. I found four Soviet 1 ruble commemorative coins in the mix. A Mexican date set was also in there from 1994- including the 2 and 5 new peso coins. A few older British coins and quite a few German-Occupied French coins were in the mix as well.

After about a week or so, I finally managed to find the time to start sorting through all of them, but it led to two whole weeks of coin therapy.

So many pennies

At long last, I made it to the bank and obtained $20 in pennies. That’s 2000. Naturally, there wasn’t a seat on the bus I took home, so I had to stand with the pennies weighing down me and my backpack. My journey home was made extra long, when our bus happened upon an accident at a crucial intersection, which caused a long detour. Finally, I made it home.

Soon enough I was at my desk, sorting roll after roll. Of course, my goal was to find copper pennies, but I wouldn’t have objected to keeping bi-centennial 2009 pennies or steel pennies, though I knew finding either was a long shot.

After looking at all 2000 dates, I found 4 wheaties, 8 Canadian, 9 bicentennials, 50 shiny new 2010s and a grand total of 713 pennies dated 1959-1982. I imagine it will be quite easy to determine which 1982 examples are zinc and which are copper- the newer zinc coins weighed less than the copper.

155 pennies composed of 95% copper make up a full pound of copper. At current market value (as of 13 Jan 2011) the price for a pound of copper is $4.41, which is a 285% rise over the value of the metal that 155 copper pennies are composed of. My plan is to divide the pennies into 1 pound sacks and put them on eBay. Perhaps I’ll start the price at $2.

Since it took less than 3 hours to sort through all 2000 pennies, it would be no trouble to go through even 5000, if the pound sacks start selling.

The end of bronze coinage

Over the last 20-25 years, bronze coins in countries all over the world have gradually suffered the same fate as silver coinage did 50 years ago. While the end of silver coinage was relatively quick in some parts of the world, the replacement of copper coinage is happening at a much slower pace. Nonetheless, it is happening.

One of the first major world economies to replace copper in small denominated coins was the US and it was the one cent coin which lost its copper content- at least the majority of it in 1982. With copper prices a bit higher than historically normal prices at about $4.35 per pound, and taking into account the weight of the US one cent coin, only 136, or $1.36, contain enough copper to equal a pound and thus $4.35. The higher copper price is resulting in a manifestation of Gresham’s Law, which in part states that ‘good money is driven out by bad money’. In other words, people will keep the good money and circulate the bad money. This happened in the mid-sixties in the US, when the 90% silver dimes and quarters were replaced with a cupro-nickel composite.

In 1992, the UK and Ireland replaced their 1p and 2p coins, which were composed of 97% copper, with copper clad steel. The copper content dropped to just under 8%. In 1997, Canada replaced the majority of copper in their pennies with zinc and then steel in 2000. Russia replaced the copper content in their kopeck denominations with steel in 2006. Copper disappeared altogether from Mexican centavo coins in 1986. From then until the New Peso was introduced in 1993, there was no copper in any Mexican coins. Presently, the only copper can be found in the bi-metallic 1, 2, and 5 peso coins- and only in the center. The rings are steel. Most Central and South American countries have coinage that is composed of steel.

Along with the removal of copper and bronze coinage, there is a shift toward steel or clad zinc and nickel from cupro-nickel coins. The amount of copper in some of the higher-denominated coins around the world, especially the Euro coins and US coins, however, is secure since a startling jump in copper prices would need to occur before scrutiny is brought to their composition. It would take almost 100 US quarters, for example, to equal a pound of copper. This would be an intrinsic value of $4.35 vs. a face value of $25.00.

Copper composed circulation coinage has a long history in many parts of the world and holds a small part in the history of a number of countries and even cultures. The removal of copper from the worlds coins only serves to reduce the over all value of the coinage. There is no value in steel. Old silver coins were backed by their very intrinsic value. The same can be said of copper or copper alloy coins as well. The value of a 1979 one cent piece from the US is higher than a present day one cent piece. The copper content may in fact be worth more than $0.01, but at least there is value to the coin.

Present day coinage holds little value. Because of the increased population of the planet, more government are being forced to produce more coins. Higher mintage figures coupled with the reduction of precious metals in the coins of today is reducing the value of the coins to collectors. Worse still, it is greatly reducing the overall value of the currency itself.