Turn a silver coin into a ring with a hammer, an anvil (or something similar), and a drill.
posted by quin on Nov 23, 2009 - 40 comments

People with a keen strategic sense maintain a well-diversified hoard of coins and painstakingly build alliances with local shopkeepers or bank tellers, conspicuously proffering coins for one purchase or deposit in the hopes of being indulged when they're short of change at some point in the future. Argentina's coinage problem. [more inside]
posted by cortex on Dec 3, 2008 - 19 comments

If you need a foolproof way to decide whether to kill someone or are simply curious as to whether probability is still operating as a factor in your existence (and find yourself out of change but near a computer with an internet connection), you can just use flip a coin.
posted by cog_nate on Dec 13, 2007 - 33 comments

Online coin generator. Sure, it's in German, but you can figure it out.
posted by mr_crash_davis on Aug 1, 2007 - 29 comments

Want to learn some coin tricks? There are six fundamental tricks you need to learn: the coin spin, one-finger spin, the walk down, the edge walk, the coin flip, and the coin roll. Once you have these mastered, you can do some amazing tricks with the videos and instructions at Coin Manipulation and from Expert Village.
posted by blahblahblah on Aug 1, 2007 - 13 comments

How much is a penny worth today? Oh, about $0.0105465. Of course, it costs more than that to produce them. Is the penny worth keeping? The old copper penny had bactericidal qualities. You could drop a copper penny in a glass of wine to discern its nature. They were the subject of various high-school chemistry experiments. According to some, they were excellent conductors of luck. And the new zinc pennies? Their melting point is lower, and they don't have the same ring to them. Some people like them, others like to eat them. What are they good for? Not much. The time has come to abolish the penny.
posted by sfenders on Nov 19, 2006 - 75 comments

Give us all your money
posted by Blazecock Pileon on Jun 9, 2006 - 47 comments

Great fakers scammed ancient Italy. An ingenious counterfeit-coin scam has been rumbled by scientists in Italy. But no one is going to jail, because the forgers lived more than 2,000 years ago.
posted by riffola on Mar 28, 2006 - 7 comments

Penny stacking - build pillars, bridges and domes from your worthless change.
posted by Orange Goblin on Apr 11, 2005 - 13 comments

Ever seen those penny smashing machines? You can join a club, visit a museum, get you own custom penny, or get your very own machine. Oh, yeah, it is perfectly legal. You can trade here, or look for machine locations in the U.S. and abroad. How 'bout a MetaFilter smashed penny? They really are America's Best souvenir.
posted by fixedgear on Jan 7, 2005 - 13 comments

For 36 years, Harold Gray has been on an extraordinary mission -- to recover what may be the most famous stolen coin collection in the United States. Since October 1967, when five hooded gunmen invaded the Coconut Grove estate of chemical empire heir Willis Harrington duPont, binding the family with silk neckties and stealing the valuable coin collection from duPont's safe, Gray has been on the case. ''We remain,'' he says today, ``in hot pursuit.''
posted by stbalbach on Apr 5, 2004 - 4 comments

Gallery of old Japanese Bank Notes and coins.
posted by hama7 on Feb 2, 2004 - 2 comments

Wisconsin has picked its quarter design! Gov. Jim Doyle Tuesday overruled an advisory panel and told the U.S. Mint to put a cow, wheel of cheese and ear of corn on Wisconsin's commemorative quarter, despite fears that it won't reflect the state's cities or its rich ethnic heritage
posted by Durwood on Oct 1, 2003 - 34 comments

From a theft at the U.S. Mint to a scam artist in Philly, from a playboy Egyptian king to a Secret Service sting at the Waldorf-Astoria, ending up at a record-breaking $7.59 million auction: the fascinating history of a coin. (via BoingBoing)
posted by Vidiot on Mar 8, 2003 - 10 comments

The Wire has just posted an article about the new Sacagawea dollar coin and the Federal goverment's attempts to promote it through Wal Mart and boxes of Cheerios. These days, it seems, even money wont sell itself anymore.
posted by sixfoot6 on Feb 2, 2000 - 3 comments