Full Disclosure: I'm using Amazon affiliate links in this post. It doesn't cost you anything, and I get a commission from any sale. So buy lots and lots of stuff so I can get some more loot for the treasure chest.
I've picked up some more gold coins for my prop treasure stash.
The latest addition is a set of 100 replica Spanish doubloons from Leib Games. It retails for $38.98 on Amazon, but the listing has a perpetual 15% off coupon that brings the final price down to $33.14. I'm pretty sure Leib Games aren't the actual manufacturer, since they appear to be a game distributor.
The coins are brass plated, die-struck zinc and 1.18" in diameter, just a smidge smaller than a US fifty cent piece. The set includes a faux-suede pouch with a sateen drawstring. Nothing fancy, but it does the job.
The coins are great. They have a good heft, one of the main attractions of metal over plastic coins. As you can see below, they're appreciably larger than the Beverly Oaks replica doubloons, which are around the size of a quarter. The detail of the die struck design is notably cruder on the larger coins.
All and all, I prefer the Leib Games coins to the Beverly Oaks doubloons. Weirdly, the larger coins are actually slightly cheaper on a per piece basis. That said, they're still expensive. Even at a discounted $33 a pop you're laying out some significant scratch to get a few hundred coins.
To be honest, I bought this set because I had a $10 Amazon Gift Card burning a hole in my pocket. As nice as these coins are I don't see myself buying more without another gift card to defray the cost.
Up next, we'll go beyond replica doubloons to a set of surprisingly affordable fantasy coins.
5 comments:
I am loving this series on 'replica' coins, BTW.
Many years ago, I designed some crude coins via a brower-based 3D program and had them made by Shapeways.
@ Mike J.
I'd love to see those if you have any pictures. It's becoming increasingly clear that if I want a trove with hundreds of coins I'll have to make them myself.
Can't find any pics or files for the others, BUT the large one with the hole (in the below photo) I got 'printed' in ... steel?
https://sta.sh/047xdxurssi
https://www.shapeways.com/model/upload-and-buy/428870
It cost a small fortune for ONE coin, plus shipping, but it's a cool thing to kinda have kicking around, I guess. If the model was less chunky, it would look more like a real coin, but it's kinda low-res, so to speak.
Later, I got a crude replica of the Lemurian talisman from Hellboy-Batman-Starman printed in a gold-tone metal. The striations from the printing process disappoint me; maybe I should have sprung for the extra polishing. It also lacks a hole I can string it on.
@ Mike J.
It may be pricey, but that coin does look awesome.
Thank you.
I suppose, if you were to go about making them yourself, a more sensible way to do it would be to make a master (or have a master made), then cast it at home using some high temperature silicone and a lead-free pot metal. One of the best advantages of that is the ability to melt down your bad castings & re-use the metal.
Alternatively, you could just keep an eye out for lots of foreign coins on eBay (or wherever). Carefully choose things so worn down as to be illegible, or using uncommon alphabets.
Or, maybe you do it ye olde Renaissance Faire way - get two dies made, and put a blank disc between them & hit em with a hammer.
Then there are these guys -
https://www.shirepost.com/blogs/news/how-a-fantasy-coin-is-made
They've made a lot of licensed coins, and a set of generic fantasy coins for gaming. Plus some quasi historical fun stuff.
Found my other coin -
https://sta.sh/0147tb6f1t5h
That shows the two attempts at the Lemurian talisman, plus the two coins. The other coin is in plastic doped with aluminum powder. Very light weight, but with a slight shine to the polished surfaces.
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