From coin to ring

Here is the process i used to make my latest coin ring, the coin i have used is a Maltese 1972 10 Cent.

The first step is to find the correct collar for the coin so it is centred in the middle of the punch and this was a doddle as it was the same size as a British florin and i had made one of those earlier in the day. It is important to get in centred as possible as the ring can be lobsided if your off by even 1mm.

I used my 1 ton arbour press to punch the hole through the coin, i do wish i had a 6 hydraulic press to make things easier but that can stay on my wish list for now.

Here you can see the hole is pretty much in the the center, i use a de-burring tool to run round the punched hole to smooth out any rough edges as these can cause splits when turning the coin later on.

The next process is to anneal the coin making it more malleable, this is best out of direct light and the coin wants to be a dull red and then it is quenched in water.

Next process is to start turning the coin and i start this in the cone dies which apply pressure stretch it out.

As you can see it has startes taking the shape of a cone, it is important with larger coins to make sure the ring stays level when being pressed in the cone dies as it can cause it to become lobsided and this is a really pain to fix.

It is important to keep annealing the coin as they soon become work hardened and make everything hard work and run the risk of cracks.

Next step is to pop it on the ring stretched to start turning it from a cone into a more traditional ring shape, this is where the annealing really can be felt as it soon becomes hard to move the shape. I annealed 4 times while just on the ring stretcher.

With the ring stretched to size there is always a slight cone shape and i use the cone with a flat item to press the fat end down to squeeze it down.

The last step before polishing is to take the de-burring tool and remove any rough edges and then some light sandpaper to finish off, this will make to ring comfy to wear.

The last step is to polish up the ring, i used a felt buffing mop with polish compound on it and finish it off by hand with a soft cloth and metal polish.

Well here is the finished ring, here you can see the country of origin and the top of the ship.

This angle show the year and the detail on the inside of the ring, i find these make nice presents for people who want a ring for their birth year.

This is my favourite thing about the ring is the fish and they look cute as hell.

Here is another one i made today for a friend, i used a 1946 silver florin.

Please leave a comment and also take note this is not a tutorial and please be aware of laws and safety when making coin rings.