A coin collectors nightmare but a treasure to me

This is a ring that was made by my father while he in WWII fighting in Europe. I'm not exactly sure where he did it (England I presume). It was made from a 1944 Two Shilling coin. Dad said it was a fad among G.I.'s to pass the time of day.

You would pinch the coin between your thumb and index finger and while pinching it tightly, you would strike it against something hard. You would then rotate it a bit and strike it again. This was done until the desired width was achieved. You then drilled it out to fit your finger and had a silver ring.

You can still read the denomination and and date. I just thought it might be interesting to English collectors.

Greg

 

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Cool.

 

That is actually really cool. If it wasn't for the date and denomination I would have never believed it was originally a coin. On top of that it was made by a US soldier, no less your own father, on duty in WWII. That is a really cool piece of history. Cherish that for life and pass it on.

 

That's pretty cool ! My dad made 5 amphibious landings in Europe. North Africa, Anzio, Italy, France and the Rhine. He didn't bring but one souvenir, but I did get his medals and ribbons. But somehow I feel that everything these guys did will soon be forgotten as more and more people rewrite history for political correctness.

 

As cool as the other side of the pillow!

 

Great piece of our nation's and your family's history. An interesting and sentimental piece that you can pass on.

 

A masterpiece, no less.

Q

 

Looks to be very well made, treasure it.
I collect WWII and WWI medals, ephemera and related stuff.

My Dad who is 89 and still very much alive served in the Royal Navy during WWII, every Sunday (Today) I always hear a new story of what happened during the war.

My father was nearby Slapton Sands (Google it) when hundreds of US service men were slaughtered when training for the landings.
US were on a different radio frequency to the nearby British and nobody knew what was going on, it haunts him to this very day.
The US covered it up for decades (Slapton Sands Operation Tiger)

My Dads last days of combat were off the coast of Canada, he was with a skeleton crew on a new destroyer putting it through its trials before signing for it, it was built for us by the Canadians.
A German U-Boat surfaced nearly alongside them, thankfully it was the last day of the war and the Kapitan surrendered.

 

Here's a seller that sells these as well..tho I appreciate the 'provinance' of yours by far.
http://stores.ebay.ca/Coin-Rings-and-Other-Unique-Things?_trksid=p4340.l2563

 

Thanks for all the remarks. I am very fortunate as I have a large collection of items Dad brought back all proudly displayed in my basement "Mancave". Dad will be 87 in July and I have over 7 hours of recorded stories on disc. I have posted over a hundred photos and related items on various WWII forum websites. I do have an assorted collection of coins/paper currency from many of the countries dad visited. As many of you have indicated it is my goal to keep everything together and pass it on to a younger family member someday.

Daveydempsey - Thanks for the info, I'll look into it. Dad was in the 82nd Airborne, 319th Glider Field Artillery and flew out of Membury for D-Day. You can "Google" Mahlon Sebring to see some of the many postings I've made to honor Dad. I had an Uncle that was a Naval Officer on a "baby" flat top that patrolled the Atlantic for German U-boats. They sank everything they found.

Greg

 

I've never seen anythinng like that before. It would be a treasure to me too! Thanks for sharing

 

God Bless and THANK YOU to all who served!
Steve

 

what about those who got recrouted and served against their will? Isnt it hypocritical to say that to those who served under a threat of incarceration and often death?

 

That is great Greg, love the story and the coin/ring. That is something very few of us have and I'm sure many would like to have. Your a very lucky man to have a whole collection of items and the stories behind them.

Thank You so much for posting it, and thank your father for serving our country. It cant be stated enough how much we appreciate what he did for all of us here.

As for it being a"nightmare"? My friend, it is an MS70 in my eyes!

 

Times were different then Vlad. Men and women were voluntarily joining the military in droves. My grandfather forged his birthcertificate when he was 16 so he could join! He is now 93 years old. There was no need for incarceration, those people went all out for us. We owe them all a great debt.

 

Sweet ring along with all the stories told.

 

Very interesting ring! Thanks for posting.

Thanks to your dad for serving; they all did a great thing. Who, however, are the people you fear to be rewriting history with the intention of dismissing the importance of WWII or the contributions of those who served in it? I don't mean to attack you personally but I don't see the relevance of such a comment. History is a malleable narrative comprising many points of view, as I'm sure you'd agree.

My dad was a tail-gunner on a B24, 44th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force; he flew on 30 bombing missions. Never talked about it. He did his duty, came home and moved on. He's a humble man who would remain uncomfortable with those who'd want to glorify the past—in any respect.

 

Quite an assortment of comments....

Vlad, My Dad has told me about and had personal contact with German soldiers that were forced to fight for the Wehrmacht. They had no choice and he was somewhat sympathetic to their plight.

oval-man, Hats off to your dad for his service and sacrifice. My Dad worked at the Willow Run, MI B-24 factory before enlisting. I hope you don't think I am trying to glorify the past. It was a tragic time for the whole world. I do feel every effort must be made to remind every generation since then of what transpired. Too many uneducated and uninformed people are starting to walk the same path because they didn't learn from history.

I didn't mean for this to stir up unpleasant feelings ,... just thought the ring would be of interest and wanted to tell how & why it was made.

Greg

 

WOW......Thats a great ring. I wonder how in creation they were able to bring the writing of the coin to the insde of the ring

 

Not at all and I don't mean to pick an argument with anyone. You have a fascinating piece of memorabilia! It would be very interesting to see one actually being made.