Our coin rings have been a topic of controversy in the past. We have a few people every now and then that think we're doing dodgy business, but we're here to clear a few things up! Defacing money can be a criminal act but that is something we are aware of.
Interestingly, coin rings were something that kicked us off as a brand and is something we still produce today, although we now favour these older coins with higher silver content and unique designs, like our Victorian shilling ring.
We started off using old non-silver coins, learning to transform these into unique rings and other pieces, while retaining the original historic design of the original currency. Making and selling these as a hobby then grew into Silver Hollow Jewellery as it is today. For those of you that have followed us since the start, you'll know that we began our journey on a selling platform called Depop. Here we accumulated over 700 sales and 400 5 star reviews for our older, non-silver coin rings. Now we focus on building a community at local markets and our website, while specialising in solid silver recycled jewellery.
We handmake and customise older coins into rings and pendants, providing coins of certain years for a sentimental touch. Incase anyone was wondering, the oldest coin we've worked with so far is from 1819!
Whether you're commemorating a special year, celebrating a milestone, or simply appreciating the history of an item, our custom coin rings and pendants carry a deep personal connection. There's something magical about wearing a piece of history, knowing its journey has been transformed into something new. These are available on our website, if you're interested in having a specific coin made into your jewellery you can contact us through our website or social media. These are also great as a gift idea for a loved one!
The controversy...
Under the 1971 Coinage Act it's against the law to deface coins in the UK! This applies to any coin after May, 1969. So, we are often asked whether our use of old coins for making jewellery is illegal...
The coin jewellery we make uses mainly old British currency like shillings and sixpence coins which are pre-1967, which keeps us out of trouble! Coins before 1920 in the UK are also solid sterling silver, so perfect for jewellery of higher quality metal; we often use Victorian coins from the 1800s which also adds to the history behind each piece.
Because the majority of the coins that we now work with are sterling silver, we'll even take unused scrap from this and melt it down into more of our pieces like our signature sandcast sapphire rings
So hopefully, our use of coins being recycled into unique jewellery has been cleared up for anyone that was wondering. If you have any more questions, or would are interested in turning your own old silver into something special, contact us today!