Hex Coin Ring

We've all seen the silver rings made out of coins, and some of us have tried it out. Well i wanted to be a little different, i wanted a hex shaped coin ring.

Step 1 Step 1

Step 1. This whole process can be done with a hammer, an anvil, and a 3/8" bolt and nut. A more complete list of tools are as follows:

Hammer
Anvil
3/8" bolt/nut
Drill bit or uni-bit or dremel
220 grit sandpaper
silver polish compound
drill
clean rag for polishing

I made myself a small rig for this project so i could easily hold and rotate the coin, but this is not a must.

You'll also need to find a pre 1965 half dollar. 1964 was the last year for 90+% U.S. coins.

Start by lightly hitting the coin on the edge and then rotating the coin using the hex nut as a guide for how far to rotate.

Comments

[natospec]

i made one out of a newer quarter as a pinky ring(im saving my few half dollars for somthing else), but the copper is bluing my skin far more than i would like it too.
do think that with the propper heat and some silver wire with a dab of nokorrode flux i could sort of tin the ring? i wanted to know if anyoneelse has tried this, because i dont want to ruin the ring that took me so long to make.

[rlacoma]

I think it would be difficult to evenly heat and have even tinning using silver wire.

You might be better off looking into electroplating it. There are many instructables on this. I really like this solution:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Clean-and-Simple-Electroplating/

Just be sure to switch the things being electroplated (quarters/dimes) with your ring and a piece of silver for the pennies in the above instructable.

Be sure to test this first on a scrap piece of copper or penny before 1982, (in 1983 they moved to a zinc copper alloy but some mints started distributing in 1982) since the ring is valuable to you.

You can find silver quarters at coin shops for around $8-$10 (just get the cheapest ugliest ones, since it is the silver you want). Also some craft stores sell pieces of silver in plate/ring/bar form, you can even buy a silver trinket there. On these make sure that they are made from silver and not just silver plated.

Also a local jeweler may even sell you some of their scrap silver, this may be the best approach since you know exactly the type of silver you are getting.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out!

[natospec]

i was able to do it like i thought. but it was a bit different. i had to heat the ring using a mapp torch, while i had some silver in a small container melting on the bunsen burner. i dipped the hot ring in acid flux, then before it boiled off i hot dipped it into the silver, then dropped it into a semi warm(around 110 F) oil bath to cool it, came out like a rough galvanization, so i just cleaned it up with a file and the buffer. looks shiney now, has a few tiny pits in it but i accomplished what i set out to do.

[rlacoma]

Wow, that is a pretty impressive technique, never would have thought of that. Do you have any pictures of what the ring looked like before you cleaned it up? I am interested in what kind of outcomes you can achieve by changing different variables in the process. Also what thickness of silver do you think took to the ring?

[natospec]

just about a solid millimeter and a half. I'm sorry i didnt think to take pictures, i kind of did this as a trial, i was suprised it turned out as well as it did. i just kind of replicated the technique my grandfather uses to galvanise his grade 8 bolts, only with silver and copper

[aaron7575]

um, i think that's a little out of my range. Anyone have any ideas?

[mhcgusto]

Has anyone thought of combining the hex ring with a circular 1? I mean making the bottom half circular and the top half hexagonal? I was thinking then you could probably engrave initials or mount a gem or something on it with that top flat surface. I've considered trying it but I notice how this hex ring fits on your fingers and I don't think it can be half circular and half with 3 sides flat, the two corners closest to the fingers should probably be shorter...
Any ideas?

[aaron7575]

that's a cool idea, i hadn't thought of that. i would make a template first so you know what shape you're aiming for. Maybe 1 flat side and 2 shorter sides that start rounding off earlier than if it were a hex shape, and then round from there on out.

[ex92]

i want to use this coin i found while looking around but i`m not sure of its actual value i was just wondering if any one has see one and can tell me if its worth some thing before i make a ring out of it cause i know for a fact that the surface i is in fact 24k gold but i don't know it its sold and just have this little voice in my head that says don't do it. heres a picture please help

[legless]

Yeah I wouldn't do it. Could be collectible now.

[aaron7575]

for practice, i did a half dollar that wasn't one solid piece of metal (if you look at the sides of quarters and half dollars, you'll see the faces aren't the same metal as the insides.) When i was done, i got a banded effect on the outside. So by the time you are done sanding and polishing, you may get down to the "inside" metal and have an odd effect, which might be pretty cool too.

[dread]

Looks like it comes from the casino on the QE2 to me. Unfortunately, I can't find any info on the denominations. You might want to ask here in case somebody knows: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=0824e5bc90e0c2e6a395bec817a57eb4&f=54

[rhoddity]

I'm going to guess this came from a casino, yes?

[cyprian916]

yeah if you look at the side with the ship the design mimics the roulette wheel and you'll see the suits on the out side of that this is either a gambling chip from a pricey casino or more likely some sort of a commemorative coin. Underneath the lion on the front you'll see written Queen Elizabeth Two which most likely references the QE2 A.K.A. the British cruise ship so my best educated guess is its from that ships casino. here is a picture of the QE2 it looks just like the ship on the back of your coin QE2so i don't know about you but i wouldn't damage this it might be an old piece.

[legless]

I've made nice rings from both brass and stainless nuts. It's easier if you use a thinner locking nut if you want a thinner ring. There is much less material to remove from a nut.

[sharlston]

couldnt you get a hex nut and hollow out the inside?

[aaron7575]

i suppose so. Maybe like a stainless steel nut would work nicely and not rust and tarnish.

[1Judd]

The Hex coin Ring is cool and done well. I'm sure it took a lot of work. I have never seen one like that before. Actually I like the 3-D coin rings better. If you are going to make a ring from a coin it's nice to see the detail on the outside of the band. This guy makes the kind of rings I'm talking about. I sent him a coin from my collection and got back a wonderful ring. all for less than $40. www.thecoinsmith.net

[crazyg]

hex shape good for vice lol

[atrus713]

if you put a loose iron or steel rod through it with the rod resting on an open vice and then hammer it the center hole will expand thus saving the extra metal, I've only tried it with quarters though. I suggest starting with a nail.

[Hasersys]

Very nice, I had been looking to find a silver quarter for about a year so I could make one. I didn't want to buy one. I had practiced with copper coins while I waited to find one. ANY WAY, I found one and made my girlfreind a nice ring that came out very nice.

YOUR ring rocks man, I love this. It is a nice idea and twist to the whole thing.

I have since made a lot of rings. They are fun to make.

[dbp428]

Wouldn’t it be quicker to start with a Hex nut or Brass pipe fitting hex shaped?

[tigerdog330]

i think ur missing the point.... its just about the novelty of having a ring made of a coin

[rwg42985]

I have made lots of coin rings and started making them as a side job/ hobby. You can check out the photos at
http://www.ringsbyruss.com/photos
also see
http://www.ringsbyruss.com
Thanks, and keep up the good work!
love the hex shape!
Russ

[mrphysics07]

(removed by author or community request)

[rwg42985]

This paragraph is from the U.S. Mint website and should clear this up: Section 331 of Title 18 of the United States code provides criminal penalties for anyone who 'fraudulently alters, defaces, mutilates, impairs, diminishes, falsifies, scales, or lightens any of the coins coined at the Mints of the United States. This statute means that you may be violating the law if you change the appearance of the coin and fraudulently represent it to be other than the altered coin that it is. As a matter of policy, the U.S. Mint does not promote coloring, plating or altering U.S. coinage: however, there are no sanctions against such activity, absent fraudulent intent. (Source U.S. Mint) The keyword is fraudulent. When you take a 25 cent piece and try to pass it off as a Sacajawea Dollar, that's fraud. When you take a Buffalo Nickel, and scratch out one of its legs and try to sell it as a rare collectible, that's also fraud. But when you take a pre-1965 coin, and turn it into a ring, that's genuine and legal

[radiobath]

Not illegal. As long as it is damaged beyond the point of being recirculated, it's legal.

[C chord]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh ok

[thewoodcarver]

Nice , put paper under the ring when you drill it to save and reuse the silver droppings

[ramses]

I have this voice in my head telling me that that isn't real silver, or else it would probably have been easier to just cast it... if i am wrong, then i will stop listening to the voices in my head...

[thewoodcarver]

The coin that is used here I agree isn't silver but I do own a few dozen pre 1964 US coins , made a killing with y2k nuts buying a dime for $5-8 and more for $0.25 $0.50 and $1 coins on e bay....Never stop listening to the voices in your head unless you go on anti phycotics...

[aaron7575]

(removed by author or community request)

[thewoodcarver]

sorry miss read though it said it was a 65 not pre when I reread it and replied to ram .....and didn't look at my first post about saving the silver ...

[aaron7575]

yeah, go check out the silver percentage of a 1954 Half Dollar. Pretty much all silver.

[Vertigo666]

Would it matter if you used just a normal dollar coin?

[aaron7575]

I think the dollar coins are a little smaller than a half dollar if i'm thinking of the same one you are. They would work for a woman's hands typically. The only thing i don't know about is how the material would react with your skin. Silver is pretty safe. A lot of coins have nickel in them now-a-days which is a metal that a lot of people have skin allergies towards. Also, i don't know if the dollar is a multi-metal coin, kind of like how half dollars are now, where they are silvery on the outside and a copper color on the inside. Might be kind of cool though.

[Vertigo666]

No, I'm thinking of the normal Susan B Anthony dollar coin, I think that's what u might've used, except mine is just a normal one (repetitive :P)

[hay_jumper]

Could you give a little more info as to how your jig works? The ring looks great.

[aaron7575]

Basically it's just something to hold the coin so you don't smash your fingers. But it is a 3/8"x4" bolt with 2 nuts (one on the front side of the coin and one on the back. This assembly is welded to another 3/8" bolt that goes through a hole drilled through a piece of plate steel. This has a nut on top and bottom of the plate for height adjustment as the coin gets smaller or if you use different coins. Then i simply spin the coin as i'm shaping it. I do this one way until i get to the edge of my block, then i spin it the other way and repeat.

[andy60]

excellent i made one out of fifty pence but made it round! lol it didnt look as good as your hex ring but its ok