Views about coins used in jewelry

Whenever I see a coin used in jewelry, my soul cries. Seeing that beautiful piece of history brutally welded to pass off as a “unique” piece of jewelry is just unsettling. Curious to know what are some of such pieces you have come across.

I’ve come across rare coins ranging from mughal era rupees to panama pill to tipu sultan fanams. What do you guys think about these?

Fortunately all of the coins that I've seen im jewelry would be able to come out with minimal effort and little if any damage done to the coin. It's always painful seeing coins in jewelry, but it can be done well without damaging the coin much and it isn't as tragic when it's just a common bullion coin.

Now time for my rankings
1. 3/10 - those types of coins can look nice in jewelry but these have an ugly piece of metal in the middle which obliterates the design
2. 6/10 - you can still see the surface of the coin unlike the above example and these look quite nice in a necklace
3. 9/10 - this ring is pretty; the ring part goes quite well with the coin because they have the same tone, the obverse (could be reverse) is unobstructed and it has a nice design. This is what coin jewelry should look like
4. 5/10 - I just don't like the shape of it a ton, the coins are simple enough to look nice in jewelry though
5. 1/10 - why would someone destroy such cool coins in such an ugly way. More complex circulation coins like these don't look good in jewelry like this, especially since there's so many right next to each other. This is a tragedy

It just makes me sad that things like this exist. People who make and sell these have no idea how valuable a coin is to someone out there.

I don’t really mind coins used in Jewellery unless it is damaged by it such as bits stuck to it or being holed. Because my parents do own some coin jewellery (not in my collection) some modern 20,200 and 500 lire Proof like coins in gold bezels and several gold Mexico 2 peso coins in gold bezels luckily they haven’t been damaged so one day if you’re any to free them they won’t have any damage. Plus they haven’t been cleaned/polished so that’s a bonus.

This may be an unpopular opinion but somehow I just don't get the emotions attached here to an inanimate object: "my soul cries," "brutally welded," "unsettling," "breaks my heart, "painful," "sad." There's so much real pain and sorrow in the world today that worrying about the fate of a coin used in jewelry seems to me to be trivial. I'm not a fan of jewelry with coins in them but I'd never get emotionally upset about it.

P.S. I did once have a money clip with US coins on it. I freed them. Then I bought cigarettes with them.

I cannot look at these as well, my eyes hurt. Or the worst, when people know that you collect coins and they bring some souvenirs from other countries that have coins inside some plastics or glued to something, or some other crap. And they say: "I know that you collect coins, that is why I brought you this!". At that moment you have to show that you appreciate the thought and thanking for the gift, but at the same time you wat to scream: "WHY???".

Quote: "rsirian1"​This may be an unpopular opinion but somehow I just don't get the emotions attached here to an inanimate object: "my soul cries," "brutally welded," "unsettling," "breaks my heart, "painful," "sad." There's so much real pain and sorrow in the world today that worrying about the fate of a coin used in jewelry seems to me to be trivial. I'm not a fan of jewelry with coins in them but I'd never get emotionally upset about it.
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​P.S. I did once have a money clip with US coins on it. I freed them. Then I bought cigarettes with them.

​I couldn't have said it better myself.

Plus, the volume of coins used to make ugly jewelry pales in comparison to the volume that are melted down by jewelers and mints themselves. Arguably, being destroyed is part of the natural lifespan of a coin. It's probably for the best that most coins don't end up being preserved. If every coin or even most coins were meant to end up in collections, we'd be buried under mountains of them, unable to ever even dream of cataloging or storing them all.

Far better, I think, to treasure the examples that we keep for ourselves and chuckle at the weird fates of the rest.

"rsirian1" & "seltsamesammler" both exemplify my sentiments about the use of coins for jewelry.

I've seen some unusual pieces of coined jewelry & I think they're pretty nice. Lord knows there's enough common coins out there to produce a truckload of unusual jewelry! While there is the possibility that a jeweller unwittingly employs a scarce coin, it is unlikely.

When I see hyperinflation notes from Venezuela made into boats or hats, I think "well that's creative!" I'm always surprised at how some collectors go for these.

Re: paper currency my feelings are exactly the same. I don't see most currency as "collectible."
There's a chap (goes by "Dean") on the Canadian Paper Money Forum who spends countless hours driving to banks to get older banknotes from the "damaged" pouches. He posts pictures of these & I'd say 90-95% of his finds are too circulated to be collected. This is my best guess since he surely doesn't post all his finds so it could be more like 99% (that's my experience with new notes). Sure he scores a few amazing notes but its a heck of a lot of work for a handful of collectible ones.

I have a few items.
I will share this -


I cannot exactly understand the making of this item - is it to celebrate the memory of Vichy?
or is it just something cute to make out of a bag of old junk?
too bad one of them is a 1943-B , the key date of the Vichy coinage, probably worth $50 in XF, but holed for jewelry, value zero, along with the others.
I got this item for nothing, "you are welcome to it". I keep it in a dish on my desk with other zero value items.

The Making and putting of Coins into Jewelry has been going on for Many Years It becomes a problem when a piece of History is Damaged and then it is irreversible and the Coin is then not a collectable Coin in most Cases anymore the two Examples below show the damage that can happen.
I have 2 Coins in my Collection that at Some point have been used for Jewelry an 1857 Gold US $ I couldn't afford a perfect one and a 1878 Trade $ both Historical and apart from the Damage Genuine and good examples of both All of the other Defaced coins that I get eg with holes in or Soldered I give to My Son-in-laws Farther Who turns them in to Jewelry as they are worthless as a Coin.

1857 USA $1
1878 USA Trade $1

Quote: "seltsamesammler"​

Quote: "rsirian1"​This may be an unpopular opinion but somehow I just don't get the emotions attached here to an inanimate object: "my soul cries," "brutally welded," "unsettling," "breaks my heart, "painful," "sad." There's so much real pain and sorrow in the world today that worrying about the fate of a coin used in jewelry seems to me to be trivial. I'm not a fan of jewelry with coins in them but I'd never get emotionally upset about it.
​​
​​P.S. I did once have a money clip with US coins on it. I freed them. Then I bought cigarettes with them.

​​I couldn't have said it better myself.
​
​Plus, the volume of coins used to make ugly jewelry pales in comparison to the volume that are melted down by jewelers and mints themselves. Arguably, being destroyed is part of the natural lifespan of a coin. It's probably for the best that most coins don't end up being preserved. If every coin or even most coins were meant to end up in collections, we'd be buried under mountains of them, unable to ever even dream of cataloging or storing them all.
​
​Far better, I think, to treasure the examples that we keep for ourselves and chuckle at the weird fates of the rest.

​"Far better, I think, to treasure the examples that we keep for ourselves and chuckle at the weird fates of the rest." I agree!
Honestly, whenever I see jewelry or other items made from coins (where the coins themselves are still recognizable) I'm more amazed at the creativity or craftsmanship involved in creating such pieces. I certainly would not let my collection encounter a similar fate, but I do look at coin jewelry from time to time just for the sake of it. Even more interesting are coins used for other non-jewelry purposes, like pennies turned into floor finishes and even molded into tiny teapots.

In some way, coin jewelry can also be a tradition or custom in certain areas. Not sure about other cases, but where I am from, it was normal practice to turn silver coins into jewelry, given to the bride on the wedding day as a symbol of the groom's willingness to support their family. Nowadays, people use fake coins for that. Fortunately, the specific silver coins used in that old practice still remain common in the numismatic community.

Coin jewelry is definitely alright with common coins. Rare ones, however, should definitely be preserved as they are.

I seriously can't understand why these people put coins on jewelry, it just looks ugly and the worse ones literally make the coin worthless.

I really don't see the big deal. This sums up my attitude nicely.

"Arguably, being destroyed is part of the natural lifespan of a coin. It's probably for the best that most coins don't end up being preserved. "
For example here is a picture of the 'melt' bag at one of the local coin shops.



They will let anyone buy whatever they want, but every six months or so they send the rejects off to be melted down. A few collectors like myself will get the better pieces. Some jewelers buy it because it is cheap silver. But the majority of it is melted down. The reality is at the moment these 40 year old coins are worth more melted down than thier numismatic value. Let's say that one of the jewelers makes one of these into jewelry. Now in 50 or 100 years I'm sure there will be some collectors looking at that jewelry piece crying at what the jeweler did, but it is just the way things go. If there isn't numismatic demand, most coins will be melted or repurposed. Most coin jewelry is just somebody repurposing coins that didn't have a lot of numismatic value at the time. Look at it this way, at least it didn't get melted!

I’m fine with them as long as they are put carefully I’m a bezel for example but no damaging nor forming it to a shape

Quote: "geostring"​I really don't see the big deal. This sums up my attitude nicely.
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​"Arguably, being destroyed is part of the natural lifespan of a coin. It's probably for the best that most coins don't end up being preserved. "
​For example here is a picture of the 'melt' bag at one of the local coin shops.
​
​
​
​They will let anyone buy whatever they want, but every six months or so they send the rejects off to be melted down. A few collectors like myself will get the better pieces. Some jewelers buy it because it is cheap silver. But the majority of it is melted down. The reality is at the moment these 40 year old coins are worth more melted down than thier numismatic value. Let's say that one of the jewelers makes one of these into jewelry. Now in 50 or 100 years I'm sure there will be some collectors looking at that jewelry piece crying at what the jeweler did, but it is just the way things go. If there isn't numismatic demand, most coins will be melted or repurposed. Most coin jewelry is just somebody repurposing coins that didn't have a lot of numismatic value at the time. Look at it this way, at least it didn't get melted!

​Not gonna lie, there are a couple of coins in that picture that look interesting. Especially those 1976 Olympic Canada silvers!

Let me preface this comment with the caveat: I am not a coin collector, just an estate sale browser and part-time reseller. In December last year I purchased what appears to be a rare German commemorative token mounted in a bezel on a bracelet. I have been searching for months for more information and its actual value, but other than an identical one in silver (copper?) posted on this website, and little help from three different local coin dealers in my city (save for its alleged place and date of origin that I believe they just took from this site, and a lowball offer to purchase), I have found nothing. 

 

As you can see from the upload, it is Lucas Cranach the Elder with his birth and death years, and his painting Venus and I believe the year it was painted on the other side. It is marked “980" - I had it tested and it is at least 97% pure gold. (The bezel is 14kt gold and the chain is 8kt.)

 

The only thing I have found from hours of multiple searches online are two of the identical token but in copper? One is posted on this site (sorry I don't have the #). Then today I found a silver/copper one on another site that I guess was recently sold for 25 euros. I have yet to find any in gold or any other metal. (I keep calling these two online “silver,” but this website calls the one posted here “copper.")

 

From the other comments here and on some other sites when searching “what to do about rare coins mounted on jewelry,” I imagine some of you are going to say it's not worth anything but scrap or as a jewelry piece. But I keep holding onto the fact that this token seems rare, since I cannot find it anywhere onlne, and I have found only two in another metal. But I realize I may be wrong.

 

My end goal is to sell it for as much as possible  as soon as possible. If anyone can tell me more about this token, and/or has suggestions on what to do with it, I'd be grateful.

 

Personally I don't mind. The world is full of examples of “I wish I could go back in time and stop this from happening". Coins in jewelry is a unique perspective, people saw coins as something more than just “money” and as a piece of art or decoration. It does show that there are people who view coins more than just money but not to the extent of a collector.