| Author |
 Replies: 14 / Views: 1,896 |
|
|
Valued Member
New Zealand
72 Posts |
I inherited a small collection of coins from my grandfather a few years after he passed away. Amongst various other things was this strange coin, the coin isn't so strange compared to what has been done to it. Does this procedure have a name? Is it collectable?  Edited by magpie
11/10/2014 9:25 pm
|
|
|
|
Valued Member
 New Zealand
72 Posts |
finally got the image to show, sorry guys I'm new to this!
|
|
Moderator
 United States
14463 Posts |
It appears to be a coin from Great Britain (UK) made around 1900. That looks like King Edward VII. What are its dimensions?
|
|
Valued Member
New Zealand
72 Posts |
Its a 1906 Half Penny, common enough but the cutting away of the area around the head is the part I am interested in
|
|
Moderator
United States
14463 Posts |
Someone has cut away the majority of the coin to possibly create a piece of jewelry.
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
One of the many things people do to coins. Obviously so many have so little to do.
|
|
Valued Member
New Zealand
72 Posts |
is a common practise? and isn't defacing coins considered illegal in some parts? I know some colonial commonwealth countries did it as an insult to England at times?
|
|
Rest in Peace
United States
7075 Posts |
People in the US turn coins into jewelry all the time. It is illegal to use money to advertise. So putting a company logo somewhere on a coin in order to promote your business would be illegal.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
4691 Posts |
If my memory is correct these are referred to as silhouettes. This was somewhat popular as a gimmick in the 1970s. After all the 1970s also saw the rise and fall of the mood ring and the pet rock. In reality the collector value of the coin is ruined. Someone may like it as a jewelry piece.
Edited by jimbucks
11/10/2014 10:53 pm
|
|
Valued Member
United States
58 Posts |
In the United States, U.S. Code Title 18, Chapter 17, Section 331 prohibits "the mutilation, diminution and falsification of United States coinage." The statute does not prohibit the mutilation of coins, if the mutilated coins are not used fraudulently, i.e., with the intention of creating counterfeit coinage or profiting from the base metal. Because elongated coins are made mainly as souvenirs, mutilation for this purpose is legal. |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1109 Posts |
I've heard this called silhouetting and I have heard it referred to as coin cutting, or the coins themselves being called cut coins. As sad as it may be for me to admit this, I think some of them look really nice, when done well. Doing this to a run-of-the-mill 2005 State Quarter wouldn't be a biggie to me, but if someone cut a nice gold Indian or something, ouch... |
|
Moderator
Australia
16808 Posts |
I have heard of such items referred to as "cut coins" or "voided coins". One of our members, nohope587, is fairly skilled at making such items. Here's a British Crown (St George) and here's a Walking Liberty half dollar, both done by him. Older pieces, such as this one, might also fall under the broader category of "trench art" - artefacts created or modified by soldiers whiling away idle time in the trenches or in POW camps. As for the legality, it entirely depends on where you are and which coins you are defacing. Most countries don't have laws against defacing foreign coins, and as stated above, America does not have laws against defacing American coins. Here in Australia, only "current" (that is, decimal) Australian coins cannot be defaced. In New Zealand, laws against defacing coinage were repealed in 2003; laws against defacing banknotes are still in place. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
1351 Posts |
There are a lot of coins like this called trench art.
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
Quote:
is a common practise? and isn't defacing coins considered illegal in some parts? Common? Somewhat. Illegal? Depends on the coin the country is from and where the defacing is being done. Some countries do makeit illegal to deface their coins,but those laws only apply to their own citizens and in that country. People outside the country can deface them perfectly legally. |
|
Valued Member
New Zealand
72 Posts |
wow that's for the info, I had a lot of my relatives go away to the world wars (lots of anzacs did) so that ties in with it being trench art. A shame I can never find out who did it though
|
| |
Replies: 14 / Views: 1,896 |
|
Posted 11/10/2014 9:29 pm
