First coinings from the dolphin die

[george wilson]

Here are 2 first squeezin's from the 50 ton press. I am posting 2 images. One dolphin has been blackened some. The 2nd. one is shiny. You cannot see the details of things like the little fishes in the water unless the surface of the silver is blackened some,which is why I'm showing an as coined shiny one. You CAN see it if shiny,but it takes careful looking and tilting the piece,which a lot of people won't bother to do. Better to have it instantly read well. We know that from long experience in selling jewelry.

The rough outer edges can be filed off,or my wife thinks she may file the edges into a "deckle" edge,like on hand made paper. She will file away the extra edge of the Sun,which was done with and end mill and went beyond the raised border.

We will send one off and see if it can be cast. It may not be possible to keep sufficient detail. In that event,I will have to individually coin every piece,which takes some time.

She thinks perhaps she will just use the dolphin as a necklace rather than a locket. It would be less expensive to sell,though I may have to coin them,as said.

The border where the Sun's rays has touched it a bit will be smoothed off by filing and polishing before blacking, These are just straight out of the press. Some filing has been done on the blackened one to eliminate the Sun's impression beyond the border. Had I known she would want a deckled edge,I would have made the Sun by other means,so it would not go beyond the border. Aesthetic decisions are sometimes made on the spur of the moment.

My artistic concept is: The Dolphin rests upon the surface,basking in the Art Deco Sun. The school of little fishes breaks the surface. The Dolphin says "Hello Bweakfast!" The little fishes say "Our name is not bweakfast,it is Goldie!" Hope the ladies like it!!:)

[Jim Koepke]

Beautiful.

I have always had an interest in the coining process and coins in general.

jtk

[Chris Griggs]

That's really neat George. Always a pleasure to see how you are applying your many talents.

[David Weaver]

The stamped coin looks nice, looks nicer than the carved stamp, which I guess is no surprise given all of the relief on the carved stamp is negative.

How many stamps can you get out of one of those if you find that the model can't be cast?

I think it may not be suitable for three year-olds, though. I showed it to my daughter and she said "where's the dolphin?" You just never know what kids are going to see when they look at stuff. You can't get them to see the things you want, and if you're doing sleight of hand, they look at the aspects you don't want them to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqXh_J-ag0I

[george wilson]

I do not know how to respond to your post. Your daughter is only 3. I am sure that if you raise her in an atmosphere of artistic awareness,she will develop the means to appreciate detailed art work.

In general,after over 20 years of marketing jewelry,my wife and I (mostly her business) know that the simpler designs sell the best. I have spent many hours making detailed designs that were just not good sellers. They have been dropped from our offerings in our online catalog. I struggle with art for art's sake vs. art that will sell. This is part of our livelihood,and so being able to sell a product is important. Hopefully the dolphin will sell. Whether it will sell or not seems to have little to do with the quality of the design work. It might have been better marketing if I had just put a dolphin in the picture,and nothing else. But,that is not my nature. We will see how well it goes.

Sometimes jewelry like I design is a good way to get into shows,because it will be examined by art minded judges. When IN the show,simpler work sells best. One of my pieces was featured on a large billboard in Richmond,Va. as a representation of what would be seen in an upcoming show. I don't think it proved to be a popular seller,though we offered it for some years. Could have been the price,as it was not inexpensive to make.

I don't really know how many coinings the die will make before wearing out. It is made of 01 steel,hardened and drawn to a medium brown color. I am new to press work,and other than the heart formerly posted here(which was not offered in our line),this piece will be the first coined jewelry we offer(if it will not cast well,I will coin each piece).

Shown below is the other die I referred to. Made as a retirement gift in 22 Kt. gold. It doesn't "fit in"with our usual offerings. maybe we should start a special line if I have the energy to make several other coined pieces.

[David Weaver]

George, just a comment in jest. I'm constantly surprised by what she sees (when we're trying to hide stuff from her) and how she interprets stuff that's not a literalist picture. She, of course, could see the dolphin once I pointed it out to her, as well as the fish. AS far as artistic sense, I'm sure she'll likely get caught up in the world of crap artistic sense, because the rest of society will tell her that's what is important.

I've noticed the same issue with sleight of hand with my daughter, she doesn't follow what an adult would follow and it can be hard to get things by her (like things I'm eating that I don't want her to eat).

I don't know if castings would have the capability to look as good as that coining, but the coin looks very good, very smooth and all of the detail stands out just as one would like it to. I know even less about what would sell, though, but I know one way to find out how well it does.

[David Barnett]

You CAN see it if shiny, but it takes careful looking and tilting the piece, which a lot of people won't bother to do. Better to have it instantly read well. We know that from long experience in selling jewelry.

Beyond the oo-ing and ah-ing... okay, I can't help it—"Ooo..."—"Ahh..."—really. Damn!

The blackening/oxidation really does flatten and bring out the Art Deco qualities in that sun.

And you're so right—grabbing that limited attention span is key in many retail venues. If you don't have a gallerist to increase hang time, justify the obscenely high price for your work, you're at the mercy of walk-by flow. My pricing either made prospects look at things a long, long time or jump back afraid to get too close. :)


She thinks perhaps she will just use the dolphin as a necklace rather than a locket. It would be less expensive to sell, though I may have to coin them,as said.

Spread the love. Right. Fabricating a hinge to match and do justice to that pressing would be labor intensive to say the least.


My artistic concept is: The Dolphin rests upon the surface,basking in the Art Deco Sun. The school of little fishes breaks the surface.

Oh, those little fishies so make the piece, George, and capture that playfulness found in Minoan fresco.


http://crete.classics.ox.ac.uk/U3S1/C224.jpg


The rough outer edges can be filed off, or my wife thinks she may file the edges into a "deckle" edge, like on hand made paper. She will file away the extra edge of the Sun, which was done with and end mill and went beyond the raised border.

Excellent artistic instincts. Pieces that bridge the ancient to the modern can look right with the uneveness of antiquities or machine age regularity but I'm in her camp on the edge treatment.


We will send one off and see if it can be cast. It may not be possible to keep sufficient detail. In that event,I will have to individually coin every piece,which takes some time.

Oh, somebody's apt to cast it even if you don't. I'll never again show anything that can be knocked off—not online, shows or even high-traffic galleries. Figure I owe design exclusivity to clients who've paid well for that uniqueness. Of course, if I chose to cast or had a 50-ton coining press, I'd approach things rather differently. :)

So while I don't myself cast gold or silver for jewelry (I cast pâte de verre, obviously), I've fabricated several cartouches—personalized with heiroglyphs for each name—and personally preferred the "worn" edges over the regularized, although some did choose smoothed and modern.

As to David Weaver's question as to die longevity, while I don't know squat about coining, I do know I could stretch that die's useful life—edible gold leaf (http://69.195.124.64/~jacekcho/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Monogram-on-cake_web-size.jpg) over very dark chocolate medallions. Oh yeah. Over and over. That would just be so right.

[Adam Cruea]

Wonderful looking work, George.

Your craftsmanship absolutely amazes me.

[george wilson]

David,I'd like to see some pictures of your work.

About pricing: We constantly try to keep our work within a moderate enough range for ordinary people to afford. Many of our pieces are in the "impulse"buying range; less than $50.00

[Bob Coleman]

George, are you starting a wait-list for these, and can I get on it? Very nice work!

I think a coined piece looks far better than a cast piece of the same design. I work for the US Mint - that's about 1/3 the tonnage we use for similar sized coins - ie, quarters (75 metric tons vs 50 tons - I'm assuming english units?) which is about right for the softer silver.

What sort of press are you using?

[Don Orr]

Absolutely lovely work as always George!

[george wilson]

Bob,Google Dawn Estrin(My wife) it will take you to her site. We haven't gotten any ready to sell yet ,or established prices. I think she can put you on a wait list.

Oh,I made a 50 ton coining press from a 50 ton bottle jack. I built a very strong cage to put it in. 2" square corner posts.2" thick steel bottom,and 3"thick steel top. The top WILL bulge when I bear down on the jack. I have a flat steel bar laying atop the press. When it shows 1/32" of light at each end,I quit pumping. The top will spring back that much without staying bent.

Thank you,Don.