A FEW FINISHED OLD COIN BUTTONS!

Yesterday I dressed warmly and ventured out into the cold garage to solder on the button shanks. All went well. I tumbled the finished pieces for an hour or so, and they are now really really shiny and bright. I'm thinking of adding a liver of sulfur patina to a few to see how that would look. It would highlight the images and printing.

MAKING BUTTONS WITH USED COINS

The last time I posted here was in December 2018....I can't believe it! It certainly doesn't seem that long ago, but as we all know it...time goes by super fast. My friend Ellinor and I did so much enameling during the summer when the garage was super hot. Now it's super cold (okay, so it's only in the 50's). The next step in my new button-making project is soldering, and that is done in the garage. Brrrr...

So what inspired this? A couple months ago I read several posts from Kate Richbourg, a well-known metalsmith, and she showed photos of the buttons she was making with used coins. They are beautiful! Check out her website katerichbourgjewelry.com  So I ordered buttons from a couple suppliers and will show you what I've done so far. Hope this will excite a few of you too!

Here are a few of the buttons. Pretty grungy looking, aren't they? I wondered if I should anneal them first before doming. I decided just to go ahead... and not go out to the cold garage! It worked out all right, although I'm sure annealing the metal first would make doming easier.

Here is what I used....a metal doming block with a couple dapping punches and a brass hammer.