this is a carving , carved on a 1945 walking liberty half called gi joe, i thought 1945 would be a good coin to use because of ww 11 ending in 1945, next picture is a carving i did on a ike dollar..
billzach, I have really enjoyed your carved coins posts. Can you go into a little detail on what you use (tools, scetches?) to make these carvings? Thanks, -Bobby
i use hand gravers and a microscope and place my coins in a engraving vise...i use the same tools as knife and gun engravers use and plan to switch over to knife engraving shortly as i,ve been carving coins for over 10 years and i,m ready to make a change...i,ve carved different coins from pennies to $20 gold coins..i,ve carved famous people, civil war subjects, people i see in town and people i remember from childhood..
Great works! I'm an Ike dollar collector and your carving is a great improvement over the original! Thanks for the look!
I hope your new endeavors will still allow time for an occasional coin carving, though I'd wager you will make a fine knife carver.
I too have been very impressed with your art. I've always been envious of people who can draw. But someone who can imagine the subject & bring it to life is the next step up. I also have hobby or two that require hand craftsmanship, but nothing as sophisticated as your art. I do hope you find time in the future to carve some coins, but I'm sure you will excel in any art form you choose if you stick to the same prefectionism you have exhibited here. I for one would like to see more of your carvings if you have the photos. Dave
What I'm most curious about how you accomplish your works is, how do you "build up" material in spots where there isn't anything? Carving away seems simple enough, (though man, what artistry you have!), but how did you get the helmet to extend beyond the edge of Ike's head, for example? ~okl.
gi joe half i,ve been carving coins over 10 years and when i read this question and started to answer it, i had to stop and think a while..i,ve carved so many coins i,ve learned to use what the coin gives me....i think what would be a better answer would be to show different stages of a carving..i,m recarving a sba dollar and will show forum a picture of it in the next few days...the sba dollar has less metal than a nickel, half or silver dollar to work with...i never tire of talking hobo nickels or coin carving, so i,m always ready to talk about it..
do you have any pictures of your $20 gold carving? I bet you are careful to save the shavings from one of those projects!
gi joe half the $20 gold coin carving was a commisioned carving i carved about 3 years ago, since then i lost the picture of it i had storaged on my pc...yes i did save the shavings for the collector who had commisioned the carving..
