Penny Coin Necklace

Assalamu ‘alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh :
 السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
 (May the peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you)

A set of Penny Coin Jewelry

In 1986 (may be around November at that time), in Fresno CA,  a friend of mine gave me a shoes box full of Pennies (1 cent USA money) before he went back home to his country. I was so happy but confuse at the same time receiving this heritage.

Few days later, my mind starting had some idea what to do with those bunch of Pennies. One of my idea was to make necklace. I started to arrange one by one the Penny to form a necklace. When I looked at my arrangement of coins, I started imagine when I wear the necklace and people might comment, I became so exiting.

Next step, I started to think how to joint each Penny. I needed to make hole on each Penny but how?
I skipped thinking to make the hole because I did not have idea and I did not know to whom I should ask. So I went to a hobby craft shop expecting I might had an idea how to joint each Penny.
In that store I found small double loop ring (with diameter 0.5 cm), I never seen like that before. Usually I saw big double loop ring used for key chain holder.

Here some images of big double loop ring and also the tiny one just to give an idea what I mean with double loop ring:

Tiny double loop ring

When I look at the small double loop ring, at glance came to my mind an idea to use it as clamp for the Penny. I was thinking to attach the Penny in between the 2 loop of the ring. So I bought several packed that might enough to make a necklace.

Soon I reached home, with exciting I started to clamp the Penny with the double loop ring without any adequate tools that I can use. I had hard time to do that because it was so hard to open between the loop of the double loop ring to give space to insert the Penny. I only had knife, scissors and nail-cutter. It took me more than an hour just to clamp one Penny with the double loop ring. Once I succeeded but several times fail and some the ring slip out again. I started to give up, and forgot about the Penny necklace project.

Actually I am not a type of person who each to give up on something. After few days I thought again to continue the necklace project but I was thinking to make hole on the Penny instead of clamp it by double loop tiny ring, but how?? Suddenly I was thinking to ask Cipy (my American parent), but I was kind of embarrassed. Due to my ego to have Penny Coin necklace was bigger than my embarrassed, so I went to Cipy to discuss how to make hole on a Penny.

Me: Cipy, can you help me how to make hole on a Penny?
Cipy: Why you need to make it?
(well at that time I did not want to tell him that I wanted to make a necklace)
So I just answered: Well I just want to make something.
Cipy: Give it to me, and I will drill it.
(I was so confuse what was the meaning of drill. That word still not in my English vocabulary list)
Me: What is the meaning of drill?
Cipy: Well drill is to make hole using a tool. So give it to me and I will drill it for you.
(Cipy did not know that I wanted to drill many Pennies)
Me: Can you just teach me how to do it so I can do it by myself.
Cipy: Why?
Me: Well I wanted to drill many Pennies.
Cipy: What??? What will you make? It will against USA rule.
Me: Oh ya??? I did not know that.
Me: What about there is a machine that can make the Penny become flat and emboss with some panorama  as a souvenir?
(So we did not continue to discuss about the USA rules)
I was thinking, what was the harm to make a jewelry out of Pennies. I thought, USA should appreciate at me to wear Penny necklace proudly (Just kidding, I apologise if what I did was wrong)

So, Cipy took me to his garage showing one side of it's wall full of many kind of tools. I was so stunning, I never saw so many tools at someone home in Indonesia before. I was asking why he needed all those tools. He said, he needed them to fix his car and any problem in the house. I just said "Wow!!!" As I knew, in Indonesia, when we needed to fix car, we took it to garage, when we needed to fix something in the house, we just called a mechanic.
Cipy said, "labor is very expensive here, much much cheaper for me to buy all these tools and some guidance books to fix something". I was speechless, I learned something new that never came into my mind before and never been discussed with my father before back home.

After few minutes we were touring in Cipy garage, he taught me how to drill the Penny. When I succeeded to drill a Penny, I was so happy and right away I took all the Pennies that I needed to drill. It took me only 2 to 3 hours to drill all, so I became more exciting, I continued to drill more Pennies, this time for bracelet to match the necklace. For the bracelet, I drilled 2 hole in a Penny across each other.  I was very satisfy when all done.

Further step, I still need to insert the ring into the hole of each Penny so I could attach each other with the Penny in flat position.I attached all the Pennies became one necklace. I was so happy and proud of myself when I tried to necklace for the first time. It looked exactly as how I imagine when I designed it. My first Penny Coin Necklace, my first jewelry design, my first learned how to drill, my first time to understand the word "drill". In that Penny Coin Necklace I learned a lot, such as; how to design, how to do hard job, new philosophy of life, and my vocabulary increased one. Alhamdulillah...

I continued to make the bracelet with the same technique. When all done I still felt something missing which is earrings. Mmmm, I run out of Penny with hole. So I backed to previous way which was just clamp the Penny with double loop ring. Since I only needed a pair of earrings, I did not mind to do harder job. I satisfied when everything completely done as I expected.

Each time I wear them, always someone ask me "Are those real Pennies??" Smiling I answered briefly "Yes"
Anyone asked me how I made it, and then I told them a short story behind the Penny Coin Necklace.

The idea of making necklace from coin appeared again when I came back to Indonesia. Around year 1995, I got several 1 Cent coin Singaporean money from my nephew. I asked a mechanic at place where I worked to drill the coins because I did not have the tool. Here in Indonesia, I could find a store where sold tiny double loop ring, so I just used regular and available chain at store.
Beside made the necklace I also made made bracelet and earrings to match, but after few years, I loose the earrings.

Below is the picture of necklace and bracelet of 1 Cent Singaporean Coin:

Serupa tapi tak sama (similar but not same) with My Penny Coin Necklace

This is a short story of part of my life journey.