As a coin collector and not a jewelry collector I hate to see it when a nice coin has been holed or is left with soldier on it. Although some of the mid to late 19th century "love tokens" are made with such a personal touch, it's hard not to like some of them. At the time, jewelry was to costly for most and this handmade personalized artwork on our coinage helped those with a modest income give a gift to a loved one. If they could have just checked the mintages first and used the more common dates, that would have been better. Chuck
Have you ever seen a ring made from a silver coin ( usually a quarter or half), I guess they bang the edge with a spoon or something to mushroom out the edge, then drill the center out. You can see design elements inside the ring. I've seen it done to nice seated liberty coins, which I guess were common change when it was done.
I wear an ethiopian coin as a necklace. It was crudely made into a pendant...It is a 50 Matonas with Haile Selassie I on one side and the Lion of Judah on the reverse. Someone soldered a brass loop on it...its crude but I like it... ^^ this is the coin...not the exact one I am wearing, this one is in my collection.
