Pie Crimpers made with coins - An obsession

Six years ago I posted the three pie crimpers I had that were made with coins. 2012 POST LINK Since then, I have added 15 more for a total of 18. Yes, it became an obsession. The 18 include: 11 Large Cents; 1 Indian Cent; 1 Two Cent piece; 1 Half Dollar; and 4 Foreign Coins.
Here is my most recent addition. A 1793-1796 Liberty Cap Large Cent.
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I've always thought that those were pretty neat. You have to like the use of coins 'out of necessity'.
IIRC, Walmart didn't have pie crimpers back then....
Wow... that is quite a collection. The Penny Lady also has a few - or did have. You could make a great show display with that large a collection. Cheers, RickO
They could've done without the pie.
Great transactions with oih82w8, JasonGaming, Moose1913.
Outstanding!
Those are cool!
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Awesome!
Grandpa used to cut silver off a few "tackle box coins" when making his lures. He said nothing compared to the reflection they gave.
Nice pie cutters
reminds me of the doorknob / faucet thing posted not long ago, and people using copper cents in their fuse boxes.
But these are for tasty treats nomnom.
Awesome new edition. It has a great look to it. Liberty is still quite distinct!
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
Will PCGS slab it even if it's holed?
Pete
I have 5 of them, all without handles, gears or crimpers. 1817,43,46,48, & 52.
I think about pie crimpers every once in a while. Not that I own any but I have had the coin below for a number of years on my desk. The notches cut into it are more like something for a gear than a pie crimper so I just wonder why someone carved it. They did a decent job as the notches are fairly consistent so it did take some time.
K
Isnt a pie just one big slice?
@MWallace I’d love to see your half dollar crimper if you have a pic of it!
ANA LM
USAF Retired — 34 years of active military service! 🇺🇸
I'll be happy to show it. Thanks for asking. It is a very "crusty" (pun 'stolen from CaptHenway') 1914 Barber Half.
Very nice. It doesn't get much more "primitive" than that. Thanks for sharing!
ANA LM
USAF Retired — 34 years of active military service! 🇺🇸
How about the 2 Cent Piece crimper MWallace?
Stinking cool!
Smitten with DBLCs.
Wow, "sweet" !!!
Here's the Two Cent piece. It may actually be a Leather Stitch Marker. It would be rolled across a piece of leather putting a small indentation to mark where each stitch would go, keeping them uniform and even. I would like to know what others think.
The leather marker theory is very believable. The handle is much beefier and the teeth much sharper than the orhers.
Thanks Jeff. I have more of a tendency to believe it is a leather stitch marker rather than a pie crimper. I have googled stitch markers and this handmade piece matches nearly perfectly even with modern ones. In my searches I have found no pie crimpers with sharp points as on this piece. I think I need to change the description of it in my collection. Still a cool piece to me. Would still like to hear what others think.
What a nice 'obsession' to have.

May I inquire as to how/where you find them?
Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb, Ricko
Bad transactions with : nobody to date
I love the idea of collecting coins made into other things, especially old ones. I think somewhere I have a large cent that was made into a gear, but the next time I come across it I may well recognize that it is the wheel from a pie crimper.
I tend to stay away from coins made into jewelry with the exception of WWII Dutch coins with the Queens portrait accentuated or cut our, as these were surreptitious statements against the Nazi occupiers.
I could tell you where I find them, but then I'm afraid I'd have to kill you.
I like collecting coins made into other things. I have a box of things that I have labeled "Re-purposed Coins". More times than not re-purposed coins can be gotten cheap. Many consider them damaged and fail to see their history.
Showed my wife this thread. She does crafting, and she says that the pointy one looks like a tool she has for poking holes in paper that is then embroidered. However, based upon the age of the tool, your leather stitching is a good guess.
Will you at least bake us a pie as our last meal?
Now you need to make 18 pies and show off the crusts with each laying on top!
I've asked a contact at SI about the latter one.
I think whoever made it would have been in for a disappointment when finding out that the spacing of the teeth they cut on the coin weren't very uniform.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
I lived in Lost Angeles.
After the collapse of the Peso, well, at least one of the collapses, the large, bigger than a quarter, 1 peso coin showed up everywhere in automotive body work as fillers for rust holes. They would be behind the hole, and then brazed from the outside. Sometimes they were in strings, tacked together on the edges, backing up coverage on a large hole.
They, along with other coins from Mexico, were also common a washers or shims.
The peso was going down so fast, it was tough to watch it. We were on a short trip to Mexico, and the exchange rate went from about 20 to 1 to 45 to 1 in days. Of course, everything is haggle prices, but quickly, the marked price was cheaper than what I would have haggled to. Plus, the people were desperate for US bills as their "money" was collapsing.
In Pie We Crust
Check out the third definition here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wartenberg_wheel
Put a piece of paper under a printed piece of cloth and roll the wheel over the pattern, copying the pattern into the paper below.
Most definitely another possibility.
This rare 1798 B-19, BB-106 Silver Dollar was made into a "pin cushion." The reverse is black velvet and it still has some old pins stuck in it!
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Photo courtesy of W. David Perkins.
W. David Perkins Numismatics - http://www.davidperkinsrarecoins.com/ - 25+ Years ANA, ANS, NLG, NBS, LM JRCS, LSCC, EAC, TAMS, LM CWTS, CSNS, FUN
Do you think my Massachusetts was once a crimper?

Pacific Northwest Numismatic Association
Very very cool pie/pastry cutters/crimpers MWallace! The leather punch is especially interesting - I haven't seen any with such sharp edges, nor heard about them being used as leather punches, but that makes sense. But so does the explanation about using it to make a pattern for sewing or other crafts.
Yes, Ricko is right in that I have several of these too but since I collect things made out of or using pennies, mine are all pennies. I have many fancy rimmed and holed pennies without the handles which either lost their handle or were used for buttons, gears, and even toys. Here are the ones I have with handles.
The Penny Lady®
I think they might have been used to cut out the dough for the bottom or top crust, but I thought the crimping is usually done by hand. They are definitely very cool and unusual pieces.
They were more likely used quite a bit for cutting pastry and pasta dough.
The Penny Lady®
Lafayette Grading Set
Did someone say pie?
MMMMMM...........Coin Pie


Wow! 18 pie crimpers made of coins... that’s a great collection indeed, it’s fascinating to know about this unique usage of coins... Cheers!
Awesome thread! Unique and informative topic. The utility and beauty of these crimpers has great eye and historic appeal. Thank you for sharing!
http://www.pcgs.com/SetRegistry/publishedset.aspx?s=142753
https://www.autismforums.com/media/albums/acrylic-colors-by-rocco.291/
Love it! Great pictures of some very cool history.
There's an old thread of someone with one made from a seated quarter. I'll have to look for it. No wonder why I can't find one, you have them all!
I thought I had another one somewhere - George II was around 1727-1760. No way to know if this was made "in the colonies", but here it is:

Pacific Northwest Numismatic Association
Stacker coins?
Blasphemy!...theres always room for pie.