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If you have a bit of time and some change in your pocket why not make a cool ring for yourself. I always thought it was illegal to do this type of thing, but it seems that if you don’t intend to use the coin as currency every again it is not illegal.
“First you need a piece of steel to use as a base for the coin to set on. Take the coin and stand it on edge. Tap the reeded edge with a spoon or a small machinist hammer while continually rotating the coin, I would recommend using the spoon first until you get the hang of how the silver feels when it folds. Be patient and don’t rush it, it takes a while. ”
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August 2nd, 2006
My dad and I were doing this in the 70’s.
When you do this, look hard for an old quarter, or better yet, an older 50-cent piece that is made of all silver, without the embedded copper. It looks better in the end.
All it takes is patience and a spoon!
August 12th, 2006
Yes, you should use a silver coin. I have made 3 myself. A dime, quarter and nickle. all silver. I also used just a spoon turn concaved like this. coin-> -)
September 20th, 2006
I tried to do this with a newer copper embedded coin with no luck. Couldn’t even get it to begin to fold, not even with a hammer. There would be no way to do this with just a spoon! I wanted to try this with a cheap coin for practice before ruining a nice silver one. Looks like im going to have to try with a hopefully softer silver coin.
September 20th, 2006
I did this with both a copper-mixed and all-silver quarter. With a normal spoon too. It works, you just have to be patient. You don’t really even hit it that hard, just tap, tap, tap.
September 20th, 2006
Are you tapping it while its spinning on the drill? How long should this process take? Im using a half dollar which is pertty thick! Have any other tips?
Thanks!
September 20th, 2006
Hey,
No, I tap it while rolling it slowly on a table, countertop, coffee table, whatever. Put the ring and a spoon in your pocket and take it with you everywhere you go. You definnitely won’t see results right away. Use a large, heavy “table” spoon to speed things up a bit. It’s been a long time since I’ve done this, but I’d say that it takes 3-5 weeks of tapping in my spare time.
I only drill out the middle when the ring is the right size. In my opinion, drilling is the hardest part, as you gotta get the hole thru the exact center and the ring is hard to hold or clamp while drilling, it wants to squish if you clamp it too hard.
A real silver half-dollar will make a beautiful ring! My sister wears one that is over 30 years old.
October 15th, 2006
Using a hammer on the coin makes it a lot easier. I’m using a quarter, and the hammer took about an hour. At first I tried the spoon, but it took WAY to long. The hammer doesn’t change the outcome. The only thing is that it doesn’t look totally smooth…;)
October 15th, 2006
I soldered a copper wire to my coin in order to turn it more easily. Since You drill the center out anyway a little blob of solder doesn’t hurt it any =]. Plus, it’s almost impossible to smack your fingers that way.
November 24th, 2006
I made one of these when I was in the Air Force back in the late 1950s. Happened upon this site as I was showing my daughter how to do it. I just used the spoon and didn’t drill the center but instead carved it out with a jackknife.
November 26th, 2006
Terri Hendrix (terrihendrix.com) has an album/song about her dad doing this.
January 15th, 2007
I told my 8 year old son about making a ring out of a coin by just tapping it with a spoon. I did not show him an example or anything, and the next day when I returned home from work he had a 1999 U.S.quarter beat down to about 1/8″ wide and the thing that surprised me the most is he did this while holding it in his hand and not down against anything. He said it took him about 2 hrs. All he has to do know is size it and I will be helping him with that. Since then I too have started to make my own.
January 26th, 2007
A coworker of mine has one that was made for her and i became really interested.
I already have a fifty cent piece I just need to track down a
quarter. I don’t want to goof up my only chance to make these so
are there any suggestions? Would I have better luck with a spoon or a
hammer? I need a way that I can do this on the first try for each coin.
January 26th, 2007
try it with a not-so-special quarter to get the idea. A quarter will make a much thinner ring than a half dollar. Use a hammer or it will take too long. Can be done in a couple of hours.
February 6th, 2007
Is it possible to make one out of a half dollar that has a bit of copper in it?
I began to try it out, and the coin started to become concave in the center. Should I just
toss it or can I fix it?
February 6th, 2007
Copper works just fine, just sounds like your not doing it right. you dont beat the coin over, you tap on the very rim and actually squish the coin out on both sides, which is why it takes a lil time. you just hold the coin between two fingers and tap away at the rim, trying to hit square on the rim, rotating between every couple hits. you will have to turn the coin around to keep the right amount of metal flaring out on both sides since its hard to hit perfectly square. bad thing about copper is you will see the copper on one or both edges of the ring will be silver, but its definitely good for practicing before using an expensive coin.
February 6th, 2007
Hitting it too hard and/or using a hammer causes the coin to buckle, or become convex like you described. A large table spoon is the way to go. Just tap away and go slow.
February 7th, 2007
im sure a large table spoon is the way to go for a high quality ring, im just saying you should at least get a lil practice in with a hammer and a cheap quarter.
February 7th, 2007
Thank you Kevo and Ian for your response back I appreciate your help.
Mia
February 7th, 2007
Quickly though, how are you guys able to get a hold of these silver
quarters so easily? I have only been able to get my hands on one.
I would like to make a better one with another. Oh and I haven’t drilled
out the center I am a little scared I will mess it up. Any suggestions?
February 7th, 2007
theres already been suggestions on drilling out the center, so read above. just realize that drilling out the center is the very last step. you dont do that until its fully beat into a ring.
February 7th, 2007
as for the silver coins, try ebay or something
February 10th, 2007
How do you know when to stop hitting it with the spoon? The sides have flared out on mine, but it would probably be really thin if I stopped now and drilled it out.
February 14th, 2007
Hey, way to go folks. This is cool and a lot of visitors to this site are getting good creative ideas and advice on how to do it. Good job.
February 14th, 2007
Brandon, stop tapping it when it looks like it’ll fit your finger. The more you tap it, the wider the ring gets, and the smaller the finger-size gets.
February 15th, 2007
Ok so I tapped it a little too much and it only fits my pinky but it fits really loose on my
pinky. would there be a way that I can make it a tad bit bigger?
Mia
February 15th, 2007
Oh and how did you guys get yours so smooth?
February 15th, 2007
Mia:
you could potentially use some ring sizing tools such as this to stretch it back out and prolly smooth it out a lil.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93522
February 15th, 2007
LOL This idea used to be popular in the navy when you are underway… lots of free time no place to go.. I have always used a heavy old spoon and just slighty tap it… for men it is best to ust a silver 50 cent piece and women a quarter.. practice leads to perfect rings… I prefer the tapped look to the smoothed out i like people to ask where I bought it…
February 27th, 2007
I have seen these rings made where the writing is on both sides, inside and outside. How do they do that?
February 28th, 2007
Keep it up (like I do :-)) Great site - loved the bit about yourselves.
March 12th, 2007
Is it possible to make one with a quarter with the copper center and a spoon. I heard that the copper is harder than silver and I want to experiment with a normal quarter so I know what to do when I can get my hands on a siver quarter.
March 12th, 2007
Roze,
Yeah, you can make one with a copper/nickel quarter and a spoon. I had one as a kid.
March 12th, 2007
If you just can’t get the hang of it, you can buy them online (see link)
March 12th, 2007
link: http://forgedunderthemountain.com/
July 25th, 2007
I’ve made these for quite some time now. Silver is much easier than the copper/nickel though it can be done with just a spoon. I’ve always removed the center with a sharp pocket knife though a drill and a dremel would be likely quicker and easier. I guess i just take alot of pride in the ones i make. I like the fact i can say they were made with just my hands, a spoon, and a poket knife. Beware that you can annoy everyone around you beating one of these down with a spoon. good luck to all that attempt to make their own. They do get easier after each one you make!
July 30th, 2007
Marshall,
It makes me feel good to know that it gets easier with each one I make, but the first one I made isn’t smooth like the
one in the pictures it looks pretty neat with the texture but how do I smooth one out if I wanted to?
July 30th, 2007
To make it smooth: Don’t hurry it up with a hammer, use taps with a spoon. Patience makes a nicer ring.
July 30th, 2007
Ian,
Thank you! I did hurry it up with a hammer! I’ll try it…
November 3rd, 2007
I make them with the inscription on the out side
November 5th, 2007
Ron,
How in the world do you make them with the inscription on the outside!!?
That is great if you have any pictures I am definitely interested in seeing them.
Mia
December 24th, 2007
To get writing on both sides, you dont have to do any hammering at all. You simply bore a hole in the middle of coin and force the hollow coin over a mandrel and hammer all around the rim of coin until its basically inside out, or the ridge edges turn 90 degrees.
January 4th, 2008
I’m making one but what coin should I use if its for a child?
January 5th, 2008
You should use a quarter 1964 or older.
January 7th, 2008
Ron,
What size whole would you suggest I bore in the middle of the coin?
January 21st, 2008
I absolutely love this idea!!!! I tried it yesterday on a new quarter. I started out tapping with a spoon then used a little hammer. When I took a break, I read where oneringtorulethemall suggested to bore a hole in the middle of the coin and force the hollow coin over a mandrel, hammering all around the rim of the coin until it it inside out. I decided to try this. The coin did not turn inside out but when I was finished, I have a ring that is silver on the inside and copper on the outside! It looks pretty neat but that isn’t the ‘look’ I was going for.
The poster didn’t state exactly HOW the coin was forced over the mandrel so my coin got a little ‘out of round’.
I was able to straighten it out and when I finished de-burring it, sanding and polishing, it is now a nice piece of jewelry.
I would like to know from oneringtorulethemall what tool was used to force the coin over the mandrel?
Thanks!!!
January 21st, 2008
If you bored a hole in the coin, you then simply place the coin over the mandrel. The mandrel will stick thru the hole in the coin. Its kid of like taking a donut and sticking your finger through the hole. your finger is the mandrel and the coin with hole is the donut. I havent got my coin rings to come out perfect yet, but I am tryinh hard to.
January 22nd, 2008
Hi,
I understand putting the ring over the mandrel but are you pushing the ring down on it? If so, what are you using to push it with?
I would love to have a ring with the writing on the inside AND outside. How is THAT done?
Thanks
January 22nd, 2008
Ok, once the ring is on the mandrel you have to hit it with a nylon or rawhide hammer in a downward motion. The ring will start to bend downward. This is the process that does most of the inversion or turning the ring inside out. It wont be perferct and you will only be able to get it about 3/4 inverted on the mandrel. I havent figured out how to get it real nice lookiing like some picures iv seen on internet and get a 100% complete ring shape. I think people are using professional ring stertchers or something to get these type rings to come out. This is a difficult process and i am constantly racking my brain to figure it out. If anyone has any ideas please let me know.
January 22nd, 2008
http://www.fabric8.com/bazaar/zoom.f8ml?ID=0&PID=LC0101
Check out this site. They must have a machine that makes these rings AND a sizer because you can order your size. Although these rings are really nice and I would love to have one or two, for less than a dollar I can make my own!! lol.
I took my Ben Franklin silver half dollar to work today ( I started hammering on it yesterday). Several of the older guys knew about the coin and spoon thing. I worked on my ring at lunch with a very nice little hammer and it’s coming along well.
My husband gave me a gold-plated, JFK half dollar last night. I have never seen one of those and am curious to see how it will look as a ring.
January 22nd, 2008
I finally got my quarter dollar ring to come out. I would give myself an A minus becuase it is still slightly crooked. I looked at that website with coin rings. Somebody on ebay is making a killing on these things. Please keep me informed if you get your ring made. I have tried with a half dollar but htey are so thick they are hard to work with.
January 22nd, 2008
I finally got my quarter dollar ring to come out. I would give myself an A minus becuase it is still slightly crooked. I looked at that website with coin rings. Good luck with your ring.
January 22nd, 2008
I would love to see it. Got a picture?
January 23rd, 2008
Everyone keeps telling me I am going to regret smashing up silver coins
How do you all feel about this?
January 23rd, 2008
Well, there other things in life these people should regret. If they went to McDonalds or other fastfood joint and shoved a greasy hamburger down thier necks they should regret that and stop worrying about you smashing coins. You can buy a pre-1964 quarter for about 3.00 (90%) silver, you can then smash it up, create a nice one of a kind silver ring that will surely grab attention. You can give them as gifts that last forever. People that say say you will regret or crtisize you simply have no vision.
January 23rd, 2008
My opinion on regretting “smashing up silver coins” is: I would rather have a cool looking real silver piece of Americana on my finger and/or give it away as a gift than know my coins are sitting in a drawer doing nothing.
I realize that many coins are valuable but I’m not a coin collector so the coins aren’t of any value to me other than making something nice from them.
I don’t believe my Ben Franklin half dollar is worth much and my 1945 ‘Walking Liberty’ might be worth a little but I haven’t done any research on that yet. Both coins were given to me long ago.
January 23rd, 2008
http://www.tradeshop.com/temp23/mcandrew-masters.jpg
Check out these rings. They aren’t coin rings but they are really nice.
January 25th, 2008
Check these out.
http://www.auctiva.com/stores/viewstore2.aspx?id=681393&styleid=66
January 25th, 2008
Great looking rings oneringtorulethemall and sandra!
January 26th, 2008
I have been working on my Ben Franklin ring and it’s coming along great. It’s going to be a wide band for me because my fingers are thin. I’m considering ordering one of those Celtic rings from Tradeshop.com
My family are Irish on both sides and I have never seen such beautiful Celtic designs and I thought I had seen them all!!!
I’ll see if I can post a pic of my ring here when I’m done with it. Can photos be posted here?
February 12th, 2008
Any kind of machine that could be made/modified to work as a rapid hammering device? I work all the time and I’d like to make several of these for family members and don’t have much time to spoon them really.
February 12th, 2008
Keven,
There is a guy who makes these rings by hand and sells them on Ebay. I forget what his name is but just type in Coin Rings and see what comes up.
February 21st, 2008
Question for oneringtorulethemall,
I’m desparately trying to understand the specifics of forming a coin ring with the date, etc. written on the OUTSIDE surface of the ring.
When you say: “You simply bore a hole in the middle of coin and force the hollow coin over a mandrel”… are you saying to bore a hole the size of your finger??…or a smaller hole to be made larger later??
March 30th, 2008
Going thru my moms jewelry I just inherited and found a half dollar coin ring from 1945…what’s it worth?