Coin Ring Hole Exactly Centered - Secret Revealed

The very first step towards creating a coin ring from a flat round coin is - you must somehow make a small hole in the center of the coin.

Now you can accomplish this one of two basic methods. You can punch the hole with a punch and die set; or alternatively you can drill a hole in it. Or, I suppose you could punch a small hole and then drill it out to make it larger. In either case, you end up with a hole in the coin which then makes it possible to fit it over the end of a tapered mandrel.

Once you have it started over the end of your mandrel; you can then begin the hammering and folding process. And, this hammering and folding process can go on for quite some time.  At least this is the typical "Hammer and Mandrel Process" you see demonstrated in all kinds of various YouTube videos and other instructional materials on the Internet. (Note: Although this is the typical process you see demonstrated the most; it may not be the only technique for achieving the desired end result...)

However, regardless of how any particular coin ring maker/artist develops their own coin rings; ideally the hole being exactly centered in the geometric center of the coin will produce the most dimensionally perfectly sized and shaped coin ring. That is, the width of the resulting band of metal will be exactly the same around the entire circumference of the finished ring.

Knowing this desire, or requirement, for a perfectly centered starting hole, a few clever entrepreneurs have discovered it might be more lucrative to sell hole punching devices to coin ring makers, than to actually make and sell coin rings. These devices, though cleverly designed and very effective, are extremely expensive (at least I think they are).  Of course they are machined from steel bar stock, and machining costs are not cheap these days.

Well, I promised to reveal the secret of "the exactly centered hole"; and so I shall. There is no denying that producing a coin ring with precisely the same width of band around the entire circumference - does in fact ideally require that the hole be positioned exactly in the center of the coin. However, the secret is; the hole really can be off from exact center and still the coin ring can be fashioned with the same width of band around the entire circumference. Thus, it is entirely fool-hearty to obsess over the task of exactly centering the hole. The reason it is not that important is because the ring maker has at least two separate opportunities to fix an off-center hole before the ring is completed.

The first is done with a round file before the forming process is started. At this point, the maker/artist merely files the off-center hole until it is slightly larger and centered.

The second is done with a flat file after the forming process is completed. The flat file is used on the cut edge to adjust the ring width until it is the same all the way around.

Both of these methods work extremely well - and are obviously a great deal cheaper than investing in expensive machined hole-punching devices.

How To Make Double-Sided Coin Rings - #5

Next comes the fun part.  You can put down your hammer and mandrel and start finishing the now fully shaped coin ring.

There are at least two ways you can finish inside and outside surfaces of the ring. Generally, the annealing process will leave a certain amount of colored residue on the outside surface of the coin.  Depending on what the base metal is, the color of this "jewelers scale" will range from dark grey (almost black) to a lighter range of grey or possibly a brown color. In either case, you may finish the coin so that much of the background retains the darker color; or alternatively you can choose to polish the entire surface to a mirror finish.  The choice is yours.

If you leave a lot of the color in the background of the coin, the details of the original engraving will be more prominent. To acheive this finish you need to first lightly sand only the tops of the highlights with a very fine grit sand paper or emery paper. Then apply some metal polish to the ring and polish until the highlights and edges are quite shiny and prominent. This leaves the background darker.

Alternatively if you want to go for the mirror finish; use a fine steel wool and polish the entire surface of the coin, thereby removing much of the background color as well as polishing the highlights. Then apply some metal polish and buff the ring until it reaches a mirror finish. One of the most popular metal polish products is called Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish. It is usually available anywhere auto supplies are sold.

The details on the inside of the coin ring may be finished in the same manner as those on the outside of the coin.

There is also something known as a Jewelers Polishing Cloth. This cloth is actually a two-part item where one half of the cloth is impregnated with a metal polish, while the other half is merely a buffing cloth. The shine of any ring can be restored with this type of cloth.

This completes this series of postings. Bear in mind, I have iterated only the very basic steps and most coin ring craftsmen will use them as a start and then modify and alter them to form their own techniques and methods.

Also, there are several good videos on YouTube that describe this basic process or some form of it. I would recommend if you are just starting, to watch one or more of the available videos. Here are a couple that will get you started. My coin rings are available at Ross Coin Rings  or Ross Coin Rings Etsy Shop