Here is an Australian Florin that has been formed (hammered) into a ring. This piece is kind of neat & makes me wonder about its origin. You can read the inscriptions from the host coin all the way up inside the ring. If you have a theory about the origin off this piece, then please let me know. Some have told me that this kind of spooned coin was made by convicts in Australia. However, I would suspect that any Florin (two Shillings) in the possession of a convict would be treated as a very valuable commodity and not hammered. I suppose that a soldier in the trenches could afford to hammer a Florin so maybe this is piece is “Trench Art”. There is toning all over this silver coin. It makes it appear that the hammering was done many years ago to a circulating coin. It doesn’r look to me like this hammering was done anytime recently. The date on the host coin is 1943. From the wear on the host coin, I would guess that it had circulated for less than 5 years before being hammered. That is my guess anyway. A spoon is not much of a hammer. I’m going to further speculate that the artist would use something heavier than a spoon to hammer the coin. I can see dents in the outside which appear too large to be caused by an eating spoon. Now my problem is how to store this neat piece of coin-art. Its 3 dimensional shape is quite thick & doesn’t lend itself to a normal coin holder. It’s basically too thick to be stored in a book with normal coins in 2x2s. The coin is a little thicker than a slab but it has the diameter of a US nickel. I think I’ll make a custom cardboard 2x2 or Capital 2x2 and then place the 2x2 in an Eagle brand page with other thick slabs. If you have photos of your hammered coins, please post them.
Very cool. I would suspect that this was done to create jewelry out of the coin. Is there a loop, or are there marks from a mounting?
I have one, it's a '43 WLH. Looks like someone almost finished the job, but not quite. I picked it up a few years ago for like $2.
It is what it is. There are no marks to indicate a jewelry mount. The center could have been subsequently drilled-out to make a ring but that would not be as interesting.
Yep, the reeds are still slightly visible. It's about the size of a quarter, and just a little bit thicker than 3 quarters.
That is a really cool Florin. IMO too cool looking to take a chance on making it a ring myself, if I owned it I would frame it somehow and slap it on my desk or a wall somewhere for that art deco numisma style look.
Probably done by a soldier or sailor and contemporary to the time of issue. It looks well done and the fact that it was never finished probably means that the person making it was never able to finish it. As to the spoon not being much of a hammer, I understand that these were usually hammered with a tablespoon not a regular teaspoon, and if you have every seen a tablespoon from that time you would find that are considerably "heftier" than today's silverware. Also usually you didn't want a heavier hammer for making these. Too heavy a hand on the hammering can lead to a "lumpy" ring with flat spots, uneven rims on either side of the central plain, and one rim or the other being hit an bent down instead of staying even. The walker shows evidence of what can happen when the process is rushed.
