|
Coins from Papua New Guinea. It has Land and Sea Crocodiles. I offer it in two colors (click photo for larger image)
This coin from Papua New Guinea holds many firsts for me as an artist. I started painting coins in 2009, and when I finished one of these crocodile coins, I felt I was ready to start selling.
I had wanted to paint coins after 15 years of collecting coins. I had seen one once, and was interested in finding out more. When I researched it, I couldn't find any information on how to do it. I had already been painting silk scarves and selling them, so I knew my way around the art supply store. Everyday for almost 3 months, I returned to the store to buy another product, trying to figure it all out. I was obviously obsessed! Eventually I got the look I wanted by blending a variety of art supply items. Each color had it's own recipe, with some colors easy to obtain and some taking longer. Another first for me was the soft turquoise color. It still is the most popular color with my customers, and is basically my "neutral color" that goes with everything. As you can imagine, I was thrilled to put my coin jewelry online and to see the reaction to it. Much to my surprise, I received an email from a man in Australia who also painted coins. He welcomed me to the art, and told me I was the 6th person in the world to be a part of it. Well, that explained why I couldn't find any information about this obviously rare type of art. I was grateful to have an answer and I have continued to enjoy painting and discovering new coins with great designs. --Ann
0 Comments
A Beautiful Sea Turtle Coin from Seychelles I find it interesting that I have always sold more Turtle coins than any other category. So, my hunt for nice turtle coins is always on. This coin from Seychelles features the endangered Green Sea Turtle, and is quite eye catching to wear. Seychelles consists of 115 islands with a population of only 100,000 people total. It is the smallest African country, and is located off the East African coast. It has 3 official languages of Creole, English, and French and the population is quite a "melting pot." The country is extremely beautiful with white sand beaches, turquoise waters, and lush forests. There is an extremely diverse amount of marine life. It is considered one of the best diving sites in the world. Fun Fact: Seychelles is over 99% water. Land mass is only .03% of the country. When I used to do art shows, I seemed to always have men hanging out at my booth. Most were curious about coins and liked looking at what was on display. Some men enjoyed talking to my husband and just relaxed while their significant other was still shopping the show. I suspect that if I had offered money clips back then, a few men would have wanted to buy them.
Actually, I like to use money clips too, so they aren't only for men! I like to carry a very small purse, and a money clip is perfect to hold some cash and my license and a credit card. All I really need, besides my cell phone, for running errands around town. I usually have a small variety of money clips in my online shop to consider, whether it is for yourself or as a gift for someone else.
A 1990 coin from New Zealand featuring an Egret I love the elegant design of this coin, and after some testing ended up painting it in my favorite deep turquoise. Since I blended a translucent paint, it can sometimes be a challenge to get the color I want with the coin color that shows through. The design features a Eastern Great Egret, which is a type of White Heron. It is not only highly endangered, but sacred to the indigenous Maori people in New Zealand. They value the beautiful bird for their elegant white feathers among other things. The birds can be found wading in the shallow muddy waterways in parts of New Zealand. Fun Fact: This $2 coin happens to be the largest denomination of coin in New Zealand. The coin was made in London at the Royal Mint. 
A 1967 coin from Canada featuring a Howling Wolf This coin from Canada has a lot of history. It was part of a national design contest to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Canada in 1967. The fifty cent coin for that year featured the winning design of a howling wolf. 1967 was also the last year that the fifty cent coin was made of silver, changing the next year to coins made of nickel. A little information about wolves in Canada:
Since I am a hopeless animal lover, it doesn't surprise anyone that I have fostered bottle-fed baby kittens for almost 10 years. In case you missed it, I would like to share my slideshow of many of the foster kittens I have been a mom to. They have come to me from my local Humane Society as young as 1 day old, and they grow up to 8 weeks old with me when they are old enough to be adopted . It is the best volunteer job ever, and it is wonderful to see them grow up healthy and ready to go to their own families. Hope this brings you a smile and a little happiness for the Holidays. Hugs, Ann 
New in my online shop - King Penguin from Falkland Islands I painted just one of these coins a few years back, and have been purchasing a few bare coins here and there to offer them again. It has taken a while, but I have accumulated 3 of them to paint and just listed them in my online shop. Before I started painting coins, I collected them for over 15 years, and belonged to our local coin club. In fact, when I figured out how to paint them, most of my coin collection became the coins I painted. For me, the best part of collecting coins was the the fun of purchasing them. Searching for something I didn't already own, and finding a reasonable price. So obviously now I search for coins to paint, and I continue to really enjoy the "hunt." This coin features a King Penguin, a large "flightless bird" that that scientists still don't know why they lost their ability to fly. They are the 2nd largest penguin with an adult height of about 36 inches, and have a life span of 26 years in the wild. They live in several antarctic areas, including the Falkland Islands where this coin is from. Fun fact: King Penguins walk slowly and do not hop. 
My Favorite category is "Cats" I am drawn to Cat designs when I paint coins. Of course I love all the animals and nature themes, but I have fostered bottle-fed baby kittens for almost a decade. I guess that makes me a little obsessed! This 2015 coin is part of a Fauna series of coins from Turkey. Each year they come out with 2 new coin designs, each one featuring a different animal. The love of cats in Turkey dates back to the people who settled the city of Istanbul, the Ottomans. The mighty Ottomans worshipped cats based on their cleanliness and their ability to hunt. As a result of their long history with cats, felines have become an essential part of Turkish culture and the city of Istanbul. Another interesting feature is that the coin is "bi-metal" with the center made of brass WITH a goldtone color, while the outside ring is a silver color. The color change isn't too evident on the painted side of the coin, but the other side it is very obvious and attractive. 
At the current time, this coin is the most popular that I paint. That can always change, but this coin deserves the attention! The coin features a loggerhead turtle which is highly migratory. They return annually to their place of birth on the Colombian beaches for nesting and laying their eggs. Unfortunately, these turtles are also critically endangered. This coin is both a beautiful design and is intended to help with awareness of the issues. It is interesting that the wavy lines which represent the ocean waves on the coin, are there as a security device to prevent counterfeiting. There is also very small text between the waves saying "aqua" which means "water.." On the other side of the coin, you will find very small text that says "cuidar el agua" which translates to "take care of the water." Pretty cool design and nice environmental message for all of us. 
A beautiful coin from Belarus I started the journey into coin jewelry by first discovering the fun of collecting coins from around the world. Often I would find something special, it was a fun treasure hunt. This coin from Belarus celebrates a tradition of Europe, Candlemas. Some celebrate with a festival of lights (candles) It is celebrated on February 2nd, at the darkest time of winter. For others it is either a Christian or Jewish tradition. Regardless, this coin is a beautiful design and rather rare. Belarus only issued 3,000 of these coins in total, and I have made 3 of them into coin Jewelry. 
7 Interesting Facts about the Hawksbill Sea Turtle:
I always say there is a story to go with every coin. This one I love. When I worked at my local Humane Society, I went to a conference for Animal Shelters. One of the speakers indicated that if we could teach every cat to reach out and touch people, they would all get adopted. Problem solved! It turns out that many people melt when a cat reaches out to them, and adopt the cat that "chose them." When I share the story, I often got confirmation from people that this had happened to them too. The pose on this coin always makes me remember all this and brings a smile to my day. If you aren't aware, Stroma is a small unoccupied island off the northern coast of Scotland. No humans have lived there for over 50 years. I have read that this series of cat coins are actually "fantasy" coins sold to help raise money for the feral cat population that still lives there. 
7 Fun Facts About Humpback Whales
This is such a fun design for a coin, and I am so glad I was able to find some of these to paint! Tuvalu isn't exactly a big source of coins, with less than 12,000 total population and out somewhere in the South Pacific between Hawaii and Australia. Just for the fun of it, here are 10 facts per the Smithsonian:
I love this coin from Cyprus, such a beautiful design and such a delight for me to paint it. Please watch the video and enjoy!
You can find it to purchase in my Etsy Shop: Click Here |
