Hand Crafting The Spartan Mask Pendants and Bracelet Centerpieces - Spartan Mask Coin Jewelry

Spartan Mask Coin Paracord Bracelet

Our Spartan Mask Coin Jewelry pieces are hand cut and finished from either a genuine Eisenhower Silver Dollar Coin or a Walking Liberty Half Dollar Coin.  They make unique jewelry pieces so I thought I'd show you how I make them.

Ike Silver Dollar Paracord Bracelets are available for sale here: https://coincrafters.net/collections/coin-bracelets/products/spartan-mask-cut-coin-paracord-bracelet

The Walking Liberty Half Dollar Coin Spartan Mask Pendants are available here:  https://coincrafters.net/collections/necklaces/products/walking-liberty-coin-necklace-handcrafted-coin-jewelry

In our last blog post we talked about the History of the Eisenhower (Ike) Silver Dollar Coin.  In our very first blog post we talked about the Walking Liberty Half Dollars.  You can see that post here: https://coincrafters.net/blogs/news/walking-liberty-half-dollar-history-get-to-know-your-coin-ring

Spartan Mask Coin Necklace

Creating the Pattern and Cutting the Mask

I found a free Spartan Mask pattern online and printed it directly onto sticker (decal) paper which is available at any Office Supply store.  I cut the paper pattern and placed it directly onto my coin.  The trick was getting the sticker lined up correctly with the Ike Silver Dollar Coin or Walking Liberty Half Dollar Coin.  You'll see later in this tutorial why this is so important.

Using a traditional jewelry saw and size 4 saw blades, I cut out the basic shape of the mask.  I have to cut the coin slowly and methodically.  This step actually takes the most time in this project.

Drilling or Punching A Hole

You can drill a hole for the hanging loop on the mask but I have a metal hole punch that I found on Ebay.  It makes centering and punching the hole a breeze.

I then remove the sticker I used as a pattern and double checked that everything was centered and even.  You can see in this photo why lining up the original pattern properly before I started was key.

Cleaning Up The Edges

Using traditional jewelry files and a dremel tool, I removed any burrs and irregularities from my jewelry saw cuts.  Its really important that these be highly finished so they don't catch on clothing and skin.  We pride ourselves on our jewelry being comfortable.

Shaping and Finishing the Ike Dollar or Walking Liberty Half Dollar Spartan Mask

The Spartan Mask Altered Coin Pendant can be worn as-is, but I added a bend to it to make it more comfortable to wear and to make it look more like a real mask.  Using my arbor press, a handmade negative and a piece of stainless steel  stock, I press it into a curve.  Its really important not to overdo the curve or to push the press too quickly otherwise the metal of the coin can stress and crack.

Finally, each Spartan Mask Coin Jewelry piece is patinaed and coated with a protective clear coat which protects the piece from damage and allows the lettering to show though.

But is making jewelry from coins legal?

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.

At CoinCrafters, we make jewelry out of altered coins and are proud of our original and high quality work.

• Want to find out about the history of the Ike (Eisenhower) Dollar Coin that we use in our Spartan Mask Bracelet?  You can read about it here: https://coincrafters.net/blogs/news/ike-eisenhower-dollar-coin-history-blog-no-4-get-to-know-your-spartan-mask-cut-coin-bracelet-the-history-of-the-ike-dollar-we-use-in-our-new-spartan-paracord-bracelet-for-men
• You can subscribe to my YouTube Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiVmlj03c4cgq4S7SOnK5DQ