Shireroth

I need a large quantity (read: 5,000+) of a quantity of very specific coins. They need to be at least US Nickel size or larger, as well as be worth approx. 2 US Cents or less.

Ideas?

Backing up the corporation currency?


Try the bank.

No, I'm actually looking to make coin mail.

That is to say, scale mail over a chain mail base where the scales are coins.

Interesting! I would suggest saving nickels and quarters, or robbing people for their pocket-change.

Considering I'll need upwards of five thousand of the things, nickels or quarters won't do. Think about it. $.25(5000)=$1250 or $.05(5000)=$250.

I need them to be large, but worth about a penny.

I'd suggest not using coins at all.

Try manufacturing factories and/or stamping houses. Most of them stamp from material (steel stock) that is 420CC, that is surgical grade stainless steel. Now, when you stamp a part on a press, you produce scrap material. When you punch a hole you leave a round piece of scrap that looks like a coin. This is called a slug. 99% of the time, these slugs are scrapped. The company I work at, for instance, scraps thousands of these slugs all the time. Probably millions, considering we ship about 3m parts per month...

I'm sure if you ask around, you'd be able to get some slugs for free from a factory near you. And ask for stainless, so they don't rust up.

They'll probably be sharp, but you can get them tumbled for a cost that'd be fractional compared to the coin method.

My main concern regarding Ryan's suggestion about the slugs is that you'd still have to punch or drill the holes in the slugs in order to make them into scales for a scale mail shirt. I'd think a normal scale mail would be nicer anyway, because the scales sit correctly because of their leaf shape.

For general chainmail supplies, I recommend http://theringlord.com . That is where Mike gets all of his wire and aluminum rings, and he has a couple of small samples of their scales made up as well (the gold plated ones are quite pretty). If you need the rings or coils (to cut up), you can order those there as well. The large scales they sell are about an inch long.

Now that I think of it, even large coins wouldn't really be the appropriate size and shape...

Slugs come in all shapes and sizes, including leaf-shaped ones. It depends on what you want really. But yeah, you would have to drill holes in each of them. Of course, you'd have to do the same with coins. And IIRC, it's illegal to deface coins like that anyways, let alone thousands of them.

That's a good point. I'll look into the slug option. Val DOES work at a machine shop. Worse come to worse, think you could get your hands on some if I sent you some cash, Ryan?

Sure. All I'd need from you are some specs (size, etc) and you'd have to pay for the shipping. But otherwise I can UPS them to you.

They may not be exactly the size you want, but I should be able to find something close. It depends on what we're stamping at the moment. We have 300 different types of valves we make.

I get into work early enough so noone can see me sneaking into the scrap pile. Not to mention I'm the Shipping Mgr.

Spaniard coin the "Peseta" is about the size of pennies and the coin is worth five pesetas and last i checked the exchange was 2.5 dollars to 500 pesetas. ask at a bank that has exchange currency. AND THEY DO HAVE HOLES!

also try asian currency, not sure what the exchange is though.

Pesetas have holes in them?

the 5 peseta coins i got a few years back had holes in them. the holes might be a little small for chain but for a chain/plate hybrid the could be nifty to the extreme

Euh, pesetas don't exist anymore. They're euros now.

*Stifles ranting about the cultural selling-out of Continental governments.*

Strange indeed...

Baldwin PlantagenetJulii wrote:*Stifles ranting about the cultural selling-out of Continental governments.*

Currency really isn't culture.

Agreed.

Besides, a unified currency is good for business.

Currency really isn't culture.

I beg to differ. A country's coinage is as much culture as its art (in fact, coinage is art), music, drama, or history.

Besides, a unified currency is good for business.

But I would ask, at the expense of what?

At the expense of putting your name and your face on a dollar bill.

Don't worry, the Euro will be gone in half of the countries it is currently being used in in 5-10 years anyway.