Maybe 6 months ago I bought the last remaining un-circulated 1987 INF US/USSR peace coins, which are made melted down Russian R-12 nuclear missile casings at auction from the previous curator (which is an odd story). Since then I’ve been selling them through our online stores, and I’d thought about making some kind of display for them but hadn’t gotten around to it.
A history-buff friend of mine decided he’d like several dual-display cases, and that was the motivation I needed to stay up working on this design.
I’m not sure how useful it will be to any of you because it is very specific, but hopefully someone can adapt it to coins they’re personally interested in. I have everything lumped into one design, but you cut the larger holes and the large border out of acrylic, ignoring the rest, and then ignore the small holes and cut/engrave everything else except the inner border which you can score, if you choose. I think it might look better without the border, but I was playing around and thought I’d leave it in.
To keep the coins in, I cut the same circles out of thin acrylic and used them as backing, but really anything could work. I toyed with the idea of cutting a backing out of leather or some veneer, but I liked the minimalism of this. The bolts holding everything together are half-inch electrician’s machine screws I got from an electrician’s machine screw kit at Home Depot. They fit snugly into the holes, so there’s no need for a nut. I have D-hooks to use on the back for hanging but haven’t installed those yet so no pics of the back as of right now. The back has a customized message to my friend and the serial numbers of both coins.
Here’s pictures of the finished product and the file (you’ll have to excuse the bathroom pics, it’s the only place in the house with decent lighting):
Enjoy! Also please don’t sell without my permission.
