Note: A quick note before I get a gazillion comments….it’s not illegal to alter coins….as long as you never try to spend them again.
I checked with the treasury department. I might be breaking some law with the international coins….so extradite me.
Everywhere I’ve traveled overseas….I’ve kept a coin from that country. I had them in a jar, but I recently took each one and stamped them with the year I traveled there:
I also made some charms using coins…..such as the one below from the year Mr. LBB and I were married:
It’s easy to stamp words and numbers into coins.
Basic supplies needed:
Metal Letter Stamps
Metal Number Stamps
Steel Bench Block
Brass Faces Dead Blow Hammer
My full tutorial is here but here’s a quick overview. I used tape to hold my coin into place onto a hard surface.
The tape also provided a guide for stamping:
The year I studied in China: 1997
I used a regular drill but a drill bit made for drilling through metal. It only took a few seconds:
The finished hole:
I attached chunky jump rings and added necklaces or other accessories:
An extra large lobster clasp turns the coins into easy charms or even add it to a key ring:
A coin from another trip to China:
A charm bracelet with some coins from overseas trips with my family:
Easy gift ideas for the holidays or to start a collection of memories:
Don’t like the idea of putting them on jewelry? Just hang them all on pins like I’ve done with some jewelry in a shadow box:
Click the image below for the full tutorial on metal stamping!
Other ways to display mementos:
I love this idea! I have a thing about coins, I just love them! I had the idea to make a ring out of a coin from Mexico. My father helped me and we used a copper tube as the ring base. Then he enjoyed it so much he decided to make one out of the new pennies (learned something new, he said pennies are only copper plated now because too many people were trying to cash them in as copper). That also looked amazing! I will send you pictures! I wanted to make my mom a bracelet of all the places she has been and I never thought to stamp the date on them! Thank you so much for this! So excited to get started on it now!
I LOVE IT! We just got back from a two week road trip and I have so many little mementos that I don’t know what to do with!
On a side note, Chinese coind a preeettttyyy 🙂
Such a great idea! I have coins from all the countries I’ve been, but they just sit in a jar. It would be so much better to be able to wear them/use them (:
We used to put pennies on the railroad tracks (my daddy’s a third generation railroad man) and let the trains smoosh them. I had so many. I wish I could find a few now to make necklaces.
I love that you actually checked with the treasury dept! Great ideas!
Haha….gotta be thorough! How are you!? Haven’t seen your name in a while. Hope all is well!
i love this idea!! most coins just sit in a box for ever, now you can actually use them!!!
Beautiful! Better idea than most souvenirs you would find!
What a GREAT idea!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love hand stamped jewelry and you have a fantastic tutorial on how to! It’s going to be on my FB!
Hi please can you help?
I would love to paint coins with enamel and simply make them into necklaces.
In the UK I cannot find any information on how to do it……
Are you aware of any books on the subject. It seems like everybody is afraid of people learning how to do it.. I just want to do it as a hobby…
Any information would be gratefully received.
Many thanks Hal Diamond in Brighton UK.
Hey Great site, love these templates
Hi Ashley,
What a cute idea! I just wanted to comment to let you know that both of the coins that you thought were from China are actually Japanese yen! The bronze one is 10 yen, and the silver one is 100 yen. I hope you went to both places in the same years…or, at the least, you’ll have another sweet coin stamping project, soon. 😉
Nana
Sweet & lovely idea!
http://cafecraftea.blogspot.com
the 20p with the horse is an old Irish coin! 🙂
I’ve to try this at home