My "Numismatic" Client Holiday Gift for this Year

winesteven

I enjoy art, and attend many local art shows. Each year for the past 20+ years, I pick out a Holiday gift for my top clients. They seem to enjoy them, although perhaps some of my clients are just being polite, lol. But it's something that is different for them every year, and is always "one of a kind", and signed by the artist. We include with each gift an "Artist's Statement" that shares on one page information about the artist, as well as the process the artist uses to create their art. Additionally, this allows me to do a little bit to help support individual artists, one each year. I remember during 2020 (the year of Covid) when I selected the artist to use, she literally cried as I let her know that I selected her for that year for my relatively large order of her artwork.

I'm posting this, since the art piece for this year is numismatic in nature.

The artist takes real rocks, and among other steps, drills a large pit through the top, epoxies a large zipper along the edges, and then epoxies in a large amount of coins. The end result is it looks exactly like a change purse, with a zipper, with coins bulging out.

Personally, I'm more excited about this years gift than the lovely art objects of past years. I hope my top clients will feel the same way.

Steve

Mr_Spud

You should have her include a few key date coins, just for fun.

DocBenjamin

Very creative.

Copperindian

Hey Steve - NICE! You have my address, right? Hahahahaha!
Ken

Catbert

Bet the shipping costs won't be cheap!

Nice gift, Steve!

lermish

When I was just getting started, I decided to get gifts for some of my top clients. I didn't have any money at the time and not many clients either. By far my biggest client was a 90yo guy, real sweetheart of a guy, I liked him a lot. My gift was ceramic cookie jars shaped like my very well known employer's logo. Not cheap. And this nice old man's response?

"I don't know why you got this for me. I don't like cookies."

SanctionII

A very clever and creative gift.

I have, on occasion, thought about how interesting it would be if coin collecting and lapidary could join together and create some conversation pieces that would appeal to coin collectors and rock collectors.

I have thought that instead of a Capital style coin holder (two outer layers of clear acrylic and a middle layer of colored acrylic, with holes into which coins are placed, and embossed gold letters on the middle layer that identifies the coins), a similar holder could be created with the middle layer being made of a slab of polished stone that had been cut from certain types of rock (similar to the cutting of a granite countertop from a slab of granite cut from a mountain of granite; only smaller).

Steve's photo of Holiday rock coin purses fits the bill of joining coin collecting and lapidary.

BLUEJAYWAY

Will be entertaining to see if someone tries to zip one closed. But seriously a nice thoughtful original gesture.

johnny9434

That's a neat idea 💡

winesteven

@BLUEJAYWAY said:
Will be entertaining to see if someone tries to zip one closed. But seriously a nice thoughtful original gesture.

While the tab of the zipper is normal and is not epoxied down, when you go to close the zipper, it goes nowhere, as the rest is epoxied. With that said, the appearance of that zipper is phenomenal, as one is visually convinced that it can be closed!

Steve

jfriedm56

@winesteven, what a unusual and imaginative gift to be able to give away to your clients. Perhaps this will awaken something in one to stir their interest into the area of numismatics. What a good choice you made in commissioning your artist. Wonderful! You’re a good person, Steve. Zack

Namvet69

Innovative gift of giving back. Brings out the kid in me cause I want to touch it. Peace Roy

divecchia

Steve,

They look amazing. What a terrific gift idea.

Donato

johnny010

Very cool and fun.

I love the clarification on “real rocks”.

Barberian

@SanctionII said:
A very clever and creative gift.

I have, on occasion, thought about how interesting it would be if coin collecting and lapidary could join together and create some conversation pieces that would appeal to coin collectors and rock collectors.

I have thought that instead of a Capital style coin holder (two outer layers of clear acrylic and a middle layer of colored acrylic, with holes into which coins are placed, and embossed gold letters on the middle layer that identifies the coins), a similar holder could be created with the middle layer being made of a slab of polished stone that had been cut from certain types of rock (similar to the cutting of a granite countertop from a slab of granite cut from a mountain of granite; only smaller).

>

Something like this piece of crap? Here are two dollars' worth of cleaned nickels encased in $30 worth of BS.

Edited to add that Steve's rock purses are clever artwork. I don't want to disparage them of his using them as gifts. What I show above is just a horrible rip off of people who don't know coins but are easily persuaded by irrelevant, glitzy packaging.

hummingbird_coins

@Barberian said:

@SanctionII said:
A very clever and creative gift.

I have, on occasion, thought about how interesting it would be if coin collecting and lapidary could join together and create some conversation pieces that would appeal to coin collectors and rock collectors.

I have thought that instead of a Capital style coin holder (two outer layers of clear acrylic and a middle layer of colored acrylic, with holes into which coins are placed, and embossed gold letters on the middle layer that identifies the coins), a similar holder could be created with the middle layer being made of a slab of polished stone that had been cut from certain types of rock (similar to the cutting of a granite countertop from a slab of granite cut from a mountain of granite; only smaller).

>

Something like this piece of crap? Here are two dollars' worth of coins encased in $30 worth of BS.

I don't think so. That looks like it's held together by a metal frame, his would be held together with screws like a Capital Plastics holder (I think).

Barberian

@hummingbird_coins said:

@Barberian said:

@SanctionII said:
A very clever and creative gift.

I have, on occasion, thought about how interesting it would be if coin collecting and lapidary could join together and create some conversation pieces that would appeal to coin collectors and rock collectors.

I have thought that instead of a Capital style coin holder (two outer layers of clear acrylic and a middle layer of colored acrylic, with holes into which coins are placed, and embossed gold letters on the middle layer that identifies the coins), a similar holder could be created with the middle layer being made of a slab of polished stone that had been cut from certain types of rock (similar to the cutting of a granite countertop from a slab of granite cut from a mountain of granite; only smaller).

>

Something like this piece of crap? Here are two dollars' worth of coins encased in $30 worth of BS.

I don't think so. That looks like it's held together by a metal frame, his would be held together with screws like a Capital Plastics holder (I think).

It's actually a crappy cardboard box. Here's the "embossed" gold lettering.

I apologize for going on a tangent here, but I'm now dealing with all this BS marketing to sell crappy coins for outrageously high prices to people who know nothing about coins. This is the worst example of that I've seen so far while cataloguing my recently deceased gf's father's coin collection. How could I NOT resist posting this after reading about coins displayed embedded in fancy stone? It's sitting right in front of me.

Swampboy

Kudos for supporting the artists and what a way cool gift for your clients to receive.
Amazing art.
As a musician I can say that's Art that Rocks

Bikergeek

I like it a lot!

Barberian

My gf just scolded me for not soliciting offers for these gems. LOL!

For the rock and coin hound in your family! It's yours for $5 plus shipping!

SanctionII

Barberian.

I was thinking of something different than what you are holding.

I was thinking of something that is custom made and not mass marketed. For me, I have a rock that was in my parents home (built in 1927) when they purchased it in 1966. I will take a photo of it and post it in this thread.

It is something that I think would be very attractive if it was cut in half and polished. I would be interested in having a slice of that rock cut off one of the halves. I would then have the slice polished and would have a circular whole cut into same into which a suitable collectible coin could be placed. Once that is done I would consider having it displayed somewhere (likely in my office on my desk).

SeattleSlammer

Way cool!