About

I have been in law enforcement for the past five years or so. After being employed as a 911 dispatcher for several years, I went to the police academy in 2019. This is where I met Sergeant Mickey Yurco. Of all the tools of the trade that I learned in the academy, one of the things that sticks with me the most is advice from Mickey: “have a hobby.” It sounds simple, doesn’t it? Mick explained that the unusual stressors and pressure of the job will drive anyone crazy— unless they have a hobby. He has several, most notably blade smithing. One of Mickey’s hobbies though, was coin ring making! It reminded me of a process my Grandpa John taught me circa 2006.

Somewhere around 2006, Grandpa showed me how the sailors of WWII kept themselves busy when there was nothing better to do; they made coin rings! Their rings were a little different. The sailors would hold a coin on edge against a heavy steel part of the ship, and hit it over and over again with a steel spoon against its edge, all while slowly rotating the coin. After hours of work, the edges would mushroom out. The center would be drilled out and a beautiful ring would be the result. The outside of the coin would be a brilliant shine but the inside would show the edge of the heads and tails side of the coin.

When Grandpa was at the end of his life, I had a hard time accepting it. I stayed up all night and made a ring the way he showed me. Somehow it made me feel more at peace. From then on, I wore that ring for every severely stressful event that occurred for me.

Early 2022, I again needed my ring. I couldn’t find it! Frantically I went about making another. It was a total failure. I was so stressed that I hit the ring too hard and bent it into a useless piece of junk silver. I quickly searched YouTube to see if anyone had built a machine to do this tedious work and was amazed to see videos on how to make the Mickey Yurco style coin ring! I quickly purchased the most basic tools. While waiting for them to arrive, I dug deep and found the patience to make the ring I intended to initially.

Since the arrival of the basic tools, I have upgraded several times and my hobby has become more of a way to blow off steam. It is comforting for me when I make them and enjoyable when I see how much people like them.

I thank you for visiting my page; I hope you consider your own coin ring!