Interesting/Rare Uses for Coins

I've never heard of this but from what I know it makes sense.
I believe silver is toxic to many forms of bacteria.
Silver nitrate drops used to be put in newborn babies' eyes (to prevent contraction of gonorrhea from the mother).
[For use in a children's book the wording would have to be ... adjusted.]

 

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Here are some shots of the Lincoln Cent that was built out of 8000 plus Cents
mentioned above.
It was built by an artist named Wander Martich during an art competition
in Grand Rapid Michigan called Art Prize if you need more information
Art Prize has a web site.
My son standing next to the Cent is six foot tall to give you an idea
how large this is.
I hope this helps.

Terry

 

Indeed - it just fell out of favor in recent times.... turns out antibiotics work better and can be safer. I imagine there are some places in the world still using silver eye drops though.

Silver's still applied to the body - in cases of burns, a silver lotion is one of the medications used to treat the injured skin!

 

The saying "born with a silver spoon in his mouth" is an allusion to the fact silver is an antibiotic. A silver spoon wasn't a rich affectation, it was a hygienic safety device.

 

@kitchmed-Silver didn't fall out recently, just changed uses. Silver impregnated boots and socks to stop stinky feet, fridge and microwave insides coated with silver to stop bacteria etc.

I keep damaged foreign coins to use as washers as they are cheaper than washers and can be drilled to fit many sizes.

 

Is the OP around?

 

wow, that big pennys is amazing

 

What about a SMALL/GIANT PYRAMID of PENNIES? or a log cabin of Lincoln design. Or either let them exchange it to the COIN STAR buy a Glass of Milk and Donuts..

 

How about these Coin Rings?

 

Hard to say whether it's art or vandalism, especially in regards to the gold.

 

In young guns 2 Billy the kid shoots a guy with his own shot gun loaded with 14 dimes then says "best $1.40 I ever spent"

 

put em on a dead guy's eyes

 

People used to carve images on some coins, particularly nickels, starting during the great depression. These are known as "hobo nickels".

Here are a few examples:

 

There are a few things on Instructables.com. This one however is my favorite -so far. http://www.instructables.com/id/Teardrop-Pendant/

 

What kind of tools did they use to carve the nickles? They are cool.

 

My thread on Coin furniture has some more images.

 

Yes, the Greeks did this so the deceased could pay the ferryman to carry them away from Hades, lest they get left behind. This sounded better than putting coins over the eye holes, as the eyes were among the first things to decay. The coins would cover the empty sockets and the corpse not look so grotesque.

 

not to mention they keep the eyelids weighted closed.

 

Just to add.. from Wikipedia...

In Greek mythology, Charon or Kharon (English pronunciation: /ˈkɛərɒn/, /ˈkɛərən/; Greek Χάρων) is the ferryman of Hades who carries souls of the newly deceased across the rivers Styx and Acheron that divided the world of the living from the world of the dead. A coin to pay Charon for passage, usually an obolus or danake, was sometimes placed in or on the mouth of a dead person.[1] Some authors say that those who could not pay the fee, or those whose bodies were left unburied, had to wander the shores for one hundred years.

And, there are some who believe that the "Shroud of Turin" shows the image of coins over the eyes of (perhaps) Jesus. You can read about what coins by googling it. Leptons in some denomination...

And of course, on another note, tossing coins into fountains goes back a LONG ways, too. Coins with wishes attached..

As well as placing coins at the cemetery on top of gravestones.

Lucy

 

Penny Loafers .. slip on shoes with a little pocket on the top.. people put dimes in, the cost for a phone call.. then pennies, shiny, became stylish. JFK wore them in public, as did James Dean, and Michael J.
Me too!