Awesome Coins

The Be a Better Human Coin Wrap Bracelet fashions a piece of peace from unexploded landmines from the Vietnam War. Because there are millions more to clear, sales of each aluminum and waxed cotton cord bracelet fund the clearance of three square meters. It comes with a lifetime guarantee and is TSA-approved.

There are obsessions, and then there’s this. Artist Robert Wechsler spent seven years making this sculpture entirely from pennies. He built the 540-pound tower of pennies by cutting four slots into 100,000 pennies, assembling them into strings, and then into sheets for stacking. He had to build a special rig to press the pennies together, a dozen at a time.

While the use of physical currency continues to dwindle, there’s still a need for coins to be produced. Process X takes us on an in-depth tour of Japan’s only coin factory for a look at how they make coins. The Osaka mint produces six kinds of coins, from aluminum 1 yen coins to the copper, nickel, and zinc 500 yen coins shown in the video.

Halloween may be over, but we would have loved to have this cast iron skeleton coin bank on display. TysyTube Restoration did a fantastic job cleaning up its rusty old bones. We love the creepy action as it tosses coins from its bony hand into its eyeball. If you like the idea, Design Toscano still sells a similar bank.

Burls Art creates guitars from unusual materials. This time, he made an lap steel guitar from aluminum $1 coins that were once good for a discount at RadioShack. He started by making a sand mold, melted the coins to cast its body, then anodized it in red. We were hoping he would have embedded some unmelted coins though.

This concave metal coin from MetonBoss feels good in the hand and is a great place to focus nervous energy. It’s made from aerospace-grade aluminum and engraved with a detailed topographic map pattern. Available in 1″ dia x 0.15″ thick and 2.15″ dia x 0.35″ thick versions. Personalization is also available.

We’ve seen how powerful lasers can be used to remove dirt and grime from surfaces. Flare Fabrication shows us how a tightly-focused laser can clean years of tarnish off of copper penny, and programmed the beam to perform the task with style. Watch the laser clean and embellish a dime here.

One reason metals are so wonderful is because they can be melted down over and over again to form new objects. In this video from Rob Bonifacio, he shows us how he took some Canadian copper pennies and dimes, layered them with high-carbon steel and forged them into a Damascus blade for a knife. Part two here.

This Cummins Allison Jetsort coin sorter machine can count and separate 10,000 coins per minute, yet its sorting mechanism has just a single moving part. YouTuber Herb-O-Matic shows how its centrifugal action and precision-cut grooves ensure the right coins go into the right slots and bags. Full video here.

This unique dress is worth far more than the sum of the 2652 pennies it’s made from. Textile artist Crescent Shay spent nearly a month collecting pennies and fabricating the copper and zinc dress by drilling holes in 1-cent coins and stitching them together like scalemail armor.

It’s easy enough to build a simple sorter that organizes coins based on size, but Daniele Tartaglia went the extra mile. The maker created an electromechanical coin sorting machine that not only separates and stacks coins based on denominations but counts and totals them as they drop through a curvy maze.

We’ve seen time and again how different collections of metal objects can create some uniquely patterned damascus. Metalsmith Shurap is back with another cool creation which is the result of melting down 190 coins and fusing them together to form a blank for forging a blade.

This unique metal memento from J. L. Lawson & Co features a concave shape and spiral pattern inspired by the gravitational pull of a black hole. Thanks to a ceramic ballpoint, it can spin like a top for up to 15 minutes. The 1.25″ diameter coin is available in blackened iron or fine silver.

Artist Roman Booteen is a master at modifying vintage coins, engraving intricate details and augmenting them with added depth. His most impressive design is this 1921 U.S. Dollar coin with a mechanical hand that grips a sword in its center when a hidden button is pushed. He also makes some amazing lighters.

Put the moon in the palm of your hand with Shire Post Mint’s lovely lunar memento. Each coin features engraved detail of the near and far sides of the moon, struck into solid 999 fine silver. Available in 1″ (.25 troy oz.) and 1.5″ (1 troy oz.) sizes. Why can’t real currency look this awesome?

Coin Cut Art makes these amazing and intricate jigsaw puzzles by painstakingly hand-sawing currency into dozens of puzzle pieces. The pieces are so tiny, you’ll need tweezers (and endless patience) to assemble them for sure.

If you’re really dedicated, you can create a copper penny floor by carefully arranging tons of individual coins. Or you could head over to Penny Tiles‘ Etsy shop and purchase some of their pre-fabricated tiles to expedite the process. They only come in British 1p coins though.

The Q usually makes things that involve hot glue to hold them together. But this time, he created a couple of really cool structures by patiently stacking lots of coins. Stick around long enough, and you’ll get the satisfaction of seeing them tumble.

Matt Giles shows off a really nifty way to dress up a room – instead of going with traditional floor tiles, he laid down 27,000 individual pennies (just $270 plus labor) for an amazingly cool look. It’s a time-consuming project, but with enough patience, anyone can do it.

Heads or Tales Coins & Collectibles presents a wonderfully satisfying video showing a laser etching machine making a cold storage coin – a physical manifestation of cryptocurrency. These coins feature a unique private key which can be used to unlock its bearer’s Bitcoins.

Celebrate your love for film with these substantial coins by graphic designer Mark Gonyea. Each one features a Movie Club graphic on one side, and a genre image on the other. They’re made from a solid zinc alloy and measure 2″ in diameter.

Made from 99.9% fine silver, Shire Post Mint’s, coins serve as a reminder to live life to the fullest. One side that reads “Memento Vivere” and the other saying “Memento Mori.” You’ll get one coin for your pocket, and another on a 30″ chain. Also available in copper and iron.

Artist Roman Booteen carves on coins and lighters. Some of his hobo nickels are not only incredibly detailed, they have a mechanical aspect as well. Some even work like a mini puzzle that you have to solve before you can activate the moving part.