Saionji Shonagon
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One dreamed of becoming somebody. Another remained awake and became. (Found in a fortune cookie.)
Posts: 7,240
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Post by Saionji Shonagon on Dec 11, 2012 1:05:04 GMT -5
Maybe cast it in brass instead?
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Post by Sakakibara Daitarou Akitou on Dec 11, 2012 12:10:54 GMT -5
Maybe cast it in brass instead? That's a wonderful idea! The supplier suggested by Yawata-dono doesn't sell brass. However, after checking up on what it was made of, they do have the copper and zinc needed to make brass! And for the same cost as 2lbs of pewter, I can get 1 pound of copper and 5 pounds of zinc. At that ratio, I can't make a true gold color, but I can buy more copper in time. Also, it seems hair dye can stain a lot of metals. If all else fails, I can use that to lighten or darken the hue that comes out after casting. Then, I can use an old painting trick I used to do with Warhammer 40k models to "antique" the coins a bit. It'll be a month or two before I can really put money in to this project, but I think I finally have a firm grasp on what I need and how to go about it. Again, I really appreciate all the input! I'll post pictures whenever I do start this up!
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AJBryant
New Member
甲冑師 katchuu-shi
Posts: 1,972
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Post by AJBryant on Dec 11, 2012 15:05:39 GMT -5
For the record, all those things on the back are stamped in proof and mint marks -- they're randomly placed. If you want to be really good, all you need is to have someone make you a few stamps, and then smack 'em on the pewter blanks.
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Post by Yawata Saburou Tadamori on Dec 11, 2012 17:45:46 GMT -5
I would not recommend brass to a person that has not worked with coins before.
We use pewter because you can melt it on a stove, and though it may get hot, it cools quickly enough that you can easily brush it off with not even a first degree burn. Brass melts around 900 degrees, which is high enough you'll need an actual forge.
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Post by solveig on Dec 11, 2012 18:32:53 GMT -5
Noble Cousin!
Greetings from Solveig! If you are feeling adventurous you can try electroplating the coins with gold or some other yellow metal. Do not bother with "antiquing" the coins. Part of the whole point of gold is that it remains shiny.
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Post by Sakakibara Daitarou Akitou on Dec 17, 2012 23:55:56 GMT -5
I know this is coming back late. But, I just wanted to say that I'll consider the new information as I begin taking steps into this process.
Brass would ultimately be the way to go as the metal itself is cheaper, which would yield long term savings. I'd just need to procure a way to get the heat and safety equipment.
However, the simplicity and low(er) heat requirements of the pewter would make a good starting point.
I've looked at a wide variety of electroplating videos and the process seems simple enough, but could potentially incur unnecessary cost increase if I don't go through the correct channels. I'll continue to do research into more cost effective ways of achieving this!
Regarding the makers marks, that's a fantastic idea! Given pewter's relatively low melting point, if I have the stamps make in something a bit more heat resistant, I could heat the stamp and press it into the coin without needing to play with figuring out almost-cooled-but-not-quite pewter. This would be significantly more difficult in brass, I'd imagine but where there's a will, there's a way. Or someone else who knows. ;D
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Post by Yawata Saburou Tadamori on Dec 18, 2012 1:37:51 GMT -5
That idea for stamping sounds great! Tell us how it ends up when it ends up happening.
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Post by Nagamochi on Dec 22, 2012 1:55:32 GMT -5
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Post by Yawata Saburou Tadamori on Dec 22, 2012 10:39:56 GMT -5
Didnt even know such a thing existed. Im still new to making coins, thanks for the info, tomodachi!
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