1971 penny pendant
I have a confession to make. I'm a bit of a hoarder. A hoarder of bits and pieces of this and that, which may or may not be incorporated into a piece of jewelry. In addition to traditional jewelry components (wire, sheet, beads, cabochons, etc.), I have a collection of colorful beer bottle caps (I actually did make a necklace out of these--see this post), a set of wooden dominos, vintage glass buttons, sea glass and old tea tins squirreled away in my studio. There's probably more I'm not recalling at the moment.
I think my hoarding habit is related to my deep-rooted sentimentality for things from my childhood (today called "vintage") and other old stuff.
My favorite bits to make into jewelry are coins. I recently made a pendant out of a 1971 penny. I fabricated a bezel from fine silver on copper backing, with a sterling silver bail. It has a "d" under the date, signifying it was minted in Denver.
Where has it been the last 49 years? How many miles has it traveled, carried in pockets, wallets and piggy banks? Where and how was it spent? A coin has a hidden history of its own, but looking at it can spur your memories. What was I doing in 1971? That year, I turned seven, so I was doing kid things -- playing with my stuffed animals, roller skating, riding my bike, going to second grade and collecting pennies in my piggy bank.
2P bracelet.
I also found a — coincidentally — a 2-pence British coin on my bench (I don’t remember how it got there). I had just finished the penny pendant, so I thought I’d dive in and make a 2p bracelet. I’m happy with how it turned out.
U.S. pennies minted before 1982 are mostly copper (95%) and and suitable for jewelry components. In 1982 and after, the U.S. Treasury changed the composition of pennies to mostly zinc with a plating of copper, which means they’re not as good for manipulating and making into jewelry.
I am now on the hunt for old coins that are low in face value but high in memories.