A numismatic "Secret Santa" gift for work- should be fun... and funny

I needed to get a <$10 "Secret Santa" gift for our company party on Wednesday.

This is one of those "blind gift exchange" things where everybody brings in a wrapped gift and they all go into the middle of the table in the conference room and nobody knows who brought what. Then people draw lots and each take a turn picking a gift. Then if somebody else wants to "steal" a gift from the person who got it instead of choosing an unclaimed one, they can. So it's like Musical Chairs. The gifts go round and round the table until finally everyone unwraps them to see what they got. I'm sure you know the principle.

Last year I of course gave a coin. It was a flashy proof World crown. Copper-nickel and not very valuable monetarily, but pretty. And it did prove popular. But of course my coworkers are all noncollectors, so one has to go for that flashy "magpie appeal" or "bling factor".

This year I planned to give a coin gift again. Most of my coworkers are female, so I thought a coin jewelry item might be a bigger hit. But since everybody at my workplace already knows I am the biggest coin geek in a 75-mile radius, they'll be expecting that, and will be looking for (or deliberately avoiding) any small, light packages.

But I have a little twist planned, you see...

How to give an amusing and unexpected coin gift that will be popular with a noncollector:

1. Take the gold-plated 1906 G-VG Indian cent you just got in an inexpensive swap. (Thanks @Eaglefawn!). Perfect. Has that "bling" factor a noncollector will like, plus it's a very popular type. (Cost: practically nothing. Loss to the numismatic community: practically nothing.)
2. Take a gold-plated cent-sized bezel you had laying around. (Cost: about $1.00.) Put the gold-plated Indian cent in the bezel. Awesome. Looks great- like an expensive gold coin pendant.
3. Put the bezel-mounted coin in a flip.
4. Put the flip inside a small envelope.
5. Go outside, borrow one of ladymarcovan's bricks from the flower bed edging.
6. Scrub brick, rinse, and dry.
7. Tape the paper envelope containing the coin to the brick.
8. Wrap the brick in fancy wrapping paper.
9. Dodge quickly to avoid the brick when you drop it onto the kitchen floor three inches from your unprotected bare foot.

Ta-dahh! Presto! Secret Santa situation solved!

I was gonna do that "box within a box within a box within a box" thing until it ended up in an outlandishly large box, but that's a pain and a lot of wrapping.

The brick thing will keep 'em guessing! And be added fun.

Unless somebody drops it.

It's sure to be a hit.

(Just hopefully not on anybody's foot.)

 

Reflexes already proven.

I didn't make up the part where I dropped it on the kitchen floor.

The brick and my toes survived intact.

The linoleum? Well, perhaps ladymarcovan won't notice that. The floor has plenty of other divots already.

I'll have to bring her brick back to put it back in the flower bed edging, though...

 

Need another secretary?

 

Dang. A definite "no" on both counts.