The 1925 is the second rarest australian penny. And this was ruined in the past. Always makes me feel sad to see this http://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-AUSTRA...118970?hash=item3d07fe6a7a:g:4sAAAOSwT5tWOYoj
Keep in mind it was done when the coin was commonly found in circulation. I'd imagine the date wouldn't have stood out much back in the 1930's. If you want to see something sickening and downright perverse then check this out: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Australian-...ing-Antique-Finish-Sz-X-Z5-11-15/291157270050 This is being done in the present day and quite intentionally. Once these coins are gone they are gone forever. There is no excuse or justification for this activity.
At least the ring is nice. Still a shame though. The worst thought is a valuable coin in a parking lot. Imagine a 1909-S VDB laying on a parking lot surface. You know at some point in its history it has happened. Talk about ouch!
I agree that it's a shame to lose any coin, under any circumstances. It's also common to find Mercury dimes that have been cut out to make necklaces. In one sense the coin lives on as a treasured piece of jewelry. The ring in your thread is breathtakingly beautiful and making one is extremely labor intensive. I mourn the loss of a collectible coin, but would wear that ring proudly. Many of us have lost a coin or two over the years for much less worthy reasons. Just MHO. Jack
I have a fellow who comes in looking to buy a 90% half or two to make rings out of. He's quite skilled. I always have mixed feelings selling him a coin or two, and make sure they are well worn and common date.
That one hurts. The crowns were only made for two years! I'm ok with people taking common years or worn coins for things like this. But these coins can never come back.
I agree with you guys to an extent on turning coins into rings. I really appreciate turning a coin into a ring, especially if it's done right. Those rings are a work of art and will be appreciated as such. It's far better to do that to a common date half dollar, then to turn them over to a smelter and have them become a bar. That bar will just go into some storage container and is never appreciated for what it once was.
You are right and I am wrong! I didn't realize the scarcity of the Crowns. I would be much more willing to accept the destruction of a modern, common coin or, as you say, severely one that is worn. If there are so few of these they should be set aside and conserved for everyone's enjoyment. Thanks for fastening my head back upon my shoulders. I'm thinking what if someone made a ring out of an MS US Trade Dollar (which I don't own in any grade). I'd be livid. Jack
For me, it's a little hard to get too upset about copper pennies, EXCEPT if you're talking, once again, about scarce or rare dates/MM. Making the little tokens isn't any better or worse than using pennies as mosaic pieces. Can you see yourself wearing a ring made of a 1909-S, VDB? (Maybe someone like Donald Trump). Jack
My wife was in a jewelry store to pick up a watch that had been repaired when an airheaded woman -- obviously with more money than sense -- came in with a box full of gold coins. The clerk told her they were Saint-Gaudens and she needed to get them appraised. That's not what she wanted. What she did want was for the store "to drill holes in them" and make Mardi Gras necklaces out of them for her friends. The jeweler refused, enraging the woman. She stomped out, promising to send her account business to a big competitor. According to my wife, the jeweler said "the hell with that dumb bell." He probably cost himself quite a bit of business by doing the right thing.
They are stupid. And since the stupid now far outnumber even the moderately intellligent, they probably will do a boom business.
Unfortunately there is nothing that can be done to stop someone from destroying valuable coins they own, should they really want to. You can try to talk sense into them but ultimately they can do whatever they want. On the flip side, when people destroy their valuable coins it reduces the number left in existence or undamaged. So it's not all bad I suppose.
I resell some of the more common coins that I buy and have doubles of on eBay, and sometimes I know the people buying them are going to use them for jewelry (like they have something in their user name about jewelry or they tell me). Even if they are pretty common it kind of bothers me. I hate seeing neat old coins defaced.
Trying to talk sense to someone who wants to destroy a valuable coin is useless. If they had any sense in the first place they wouldn't want to destroy it, thus making it unnecessary to talk sense to them.