Old penny worth turning.....

Up in the workshop I have three old Golden Virginia tins crammed full mostly of old "D"'s - pennies that is. I have not come across a use for them yet but I bet someone has.

If you know of miracles that have been created using these old coins I would be much interested.

Rik

Many moons ago I was helping Dad repair his 1967 Morris 1800. An old halfpenny was employed to shut off the end of a heater control valve (IIRC) which we soldered in place over the leaking end.

Thereby increasing the value of said motor car by 0.5d! It never leaked after that whilst we had it.

My Dad once used a Florin in place of a Core Plug that had fallen out of one of his cars, a Morris I believe.

graham.

(Of no use to the OP I realise, but I do like an anecdote).

Might be worth checking to see if any of them are actually collectible and of value.

Otherwise how about unusual wheels, or domed to make lids, et al.

If all else fails: I remember seeing a person at craft fairs who made an amazing range of small models etc using coins, do a Google search for him then ask if he wants to buy them.

I will try and find who the maker was, I've seen him at Craft Fairs in SE England.

Edited By V8Eng on 26/01/2014 20:36:02

Rik,

Like you I`ve about a dozen of those GV tins & strangely enough 2 of them contain both pennies & half pennies.

Drill a suitable size hole through the centre & bob`s yer uncle penny washers or halfpenny washers. They are soft enough to bend to hold corrugated sheet. You can`t spend them but you can recycle !

Alan

hi rik when I was an apprentice we used to get big brass nuts, silver solder pennys to the thread recess each side, put a 1/4 inch thread in the bottom make a nice fitting plug. drill 2 holes in the top, 1 to take a lighter wick the other for a flint wheel, stuff the hollow centre with cotton wool and you've got a nice table lighter. ian c

When I was a kid my dad had a model of a spitfire made from an old penny. It had been beaten out, folded in half and the sides folded down and then all filed to shape to make the unmistakable shape of a Spitfire.

They make good dog discs, turn flat both sides and drill a hole and either engrave or stamp. Might be worth a penny or two!

Clive

G'day.

Bore one penny to half thickness, leaving the rim intact. Turn another one to half thickness of a diameter to fit exactly into the first piece. Carefully sweat together with a tiny trace of solder. You now have a double headed penny, which can be useful in some situations.

* Danny M *

In WW2 my dear old Dad made a 30mm wingspan Spitire out of two pennies and a halfpenny, one penny as the base, a halfpenny with just the rim remaining as the support and the second penny as a representation of a Spitfire. In the 60s my brother did a similar thing of an FD2.

cheers

Bill

Smooth off one face and sell them on Ebay in sets of five as "shove pennies"

I just make washers, cheaper than buying them. Double headed penny is good but not easy, as an apprentice I remember watching a chap making them, on night shift of course, in a great big chuck, about 16" dia. Must have had a fixture.

Norman Valentine: My dad made one of those when he was in the RAF during WW2. One penny formed the base, while the Britannia cut from another formed an upright element. The spitfire was perched on her trident. You have got me searching through drawers of old junk to see if I can find it...

I'v got a double headed penny, made when I first got my lathe, tails faced off, sweated together.

There was an article in ME back in the 1980/90s of a Spitfire made from a penny, it was first flattened by being placed on the railway line. Ian S C

Hi Ian, I was gonna say you could always amuse yourself and or your kids/grandkids the old fashioned way, by putting them on the railway and waiting for a train. My brothers and myself couldn't ever afford to do it when we were kids, but I knew one or two of the boys at school who did.

Regards Nick.

I've seen watch dials made from old coins. All you need to do is drill the centre, take the edge down to the correct diameter and bond to the existing dial (if the tubes for the hands are long enough), or replace the existing dial by using sticky pads (or copper dial feet) onto the movement. Some dials have thin copper or brass rods soldered to the dial which fit through holes in the movement, secured with tiny screws or cams. Careful positioning is essential.

Mike.

When I was in Venice, in 1977, a ship loading for Hong Kong was found to have a number of tons of 50Lira coins in the bilge, they were the right size for making watch backs, the clue lay in the fact that the watches all ready made still had the markings of the coin on the inside. Ian S C

Ian, I remember it well, as I used to travel to Italy quite frequently in the era. I think 50 lira was worth about 3.5 pence in the era, and the watchmaker found the coins cheaper than making a watch back in a suitable non-ferrous, non-corroding metal. Whatever the truth of the matter, it caused a shortage of 50 lira pieces in Italy at the time.

Was 50 Lira worth that much!!!! Ian S C