ONE OF MY HOBBIES IS BUYING GOLD COIN JEWELRY. INCLUDING RINGS, CUFFLINKS, TIE PINS, BELT BUCKLES, BOLO TIES, ETC.

THINGS YOU WANT TO LOOK FOR:

- IS THE COIN SOLDERED TO OTHER PARTS OF THE ITEM OR IS IT FREE FLOATING WITH CLASPS. PROPER JEWELERS SHOULD NOT SOLDER THE COIN, IT SHOULD BE HELD INTACT WITHOUT BONDING THE COIN TO ANYTHING.

- GRADE, ONCE A COIN IS PUT INTO JEWELRY, SOME SAY THE VALUE OF THE COIN IS LOST. I DONT AGREE, UNLESS IT IS SOLDERED OR DEFACED. USUALLY EF COINS ARE USED TO MAKE COIN JEWELRY. THERE IS NO POINT IN MAKING IT IN HIGHER GRADES BECAUSE OF WEAR. HOWEVER I HAVE HAD SOME MS-62 IN MY COIN RINGS!

- RINGS IS THE COIN FLUSH WITH THE SETTING, NO SNAG POTENTIALS. DOES THE BAND FIT (LOOK GOOD) WITH THE COIN. THE COIN SHOULD BE PROPORTIONAL TO THE SIZE OF THE FINGER.

- CUFFLINKS AND TIE PINS - YOU SHOULD LOOK FOR ONES THAT HAVE A BEZEL AROUND, SO NO NEED TO SOLDER COIN- EVEN THOUGH WITH A BEZEL, I HAVE ACQUIRED ONES IN BEZELS AND SOLDERED- JUST BAD JEWELRY MAKING.

- BOLO TIES - SHOULD HAVE BOLO IN SILVER WITH GOLD ACCENTS, AND COIN SECURED AND FLUSH. THE SAME GOES WITH BELT BUCKLES.

- AS WITH ANY JEWELRY AND COIN, YOU SHOULD ADMIRE IT FOR ITS ARTISTIC AND 'LIKEABLE' VALUE, SINCE YOU WILL BE WEARING IT FOR PLEASURE, BUT ALSO CAN BE AN INVESTMENT ALSO.

- BE WARY OF COUNTERFEIT COINS IN JEWELRY, THERE IS CAUSE FOR CONCERN HEAR! BE WARY OF DEALS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE. ALSO HAVE A COIN DEAL LOOK AT IT OR APPRAISE IT, I HAVE BOUGHT A FEW COUNTERFEIT COIN ITEMS, BUT THEY TURNED OUT TO BE MADE OF REAL GOLD, AND I LIKED THE STYLE ANYWAYS, SO IT DIDNT MATTER. THE BEST, AND SOMETIMES ONLY WAY TO DETECT A COUNTERFEIT IS TO LOOK AT THE EDGE OF THE RIM. THIS IS DIFFICULT, SINCE THE COIN RIM IS HIDDEN BY THE ITEM IT IS IN. SO UNLESS YOU WANT TO TAKE IT APART, OR HAVE A JEWELER TAKE IT APART- BEST TO TAKE IT TO A COIN DEALER... THEY CANT BE 100% POSITIVE, SINCE THEY HAVE TO SEE THE RIM, UNLESS ITS A BAD FAKE.

- DO YOUR RESEARCH... I HAVE FOUND SOME ISLE OF MAN $25 COIN RINGS OUT THERE. THEY LOOK NICE, BUT WITH RESEARCH, TALKING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE OF THE ISLE OF MAN- THE ISSUERS OF THE COIN, AND THE POYJOB (OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT) MINT WHO PRODUCES THE COIN, I FOUND OUT THE DESIGN FOR THAT YEAR WAS WRONG, AND THEY USE CROWNS, 1/4 CROWNS, NEVER DOLLARS. SO THIS WAS A COMPLETE FANTASY COIN... AND I STAYED AWAY FROM IT. YOU CAN ALSO GET THE DIAMETER OF THE COIN AND MATCH IT TO AUTHENTIC COIN. AGAIN DO SO RESEARCH, IT PAYS OFF.

- USE GOLD CALCULATORS FOUND ON THE INTERNET TO FIND THE VALUE OF THE KARAT WEIGHT OF GOLD IN THE RING, YOU TAKE THE WEIGHT OF THE RING, MINUS THE WEIGHT OF THE COIN, AND ADD THE VALUE OF SAY 15 GRAMS OF 14KT GOLD WITH 8 GRAMS (SAY A GOLD SOVEREIGN). TAKE THE 14KT GOLD VALUE ADD THE VALUE OF THE COIN- EITHER ITS VALUE OR THE VALUE OF ITS 22K GOLD, ADD ANY DIAMOND VALUE, PLUS THE COST OF WORKMANSHIP, AND YOU HAVE A BASE PRICE TO WORK ON. YOU CAN ALSO COMPARE THE RECENT SALES PRICE OF SIMILAR ITEMS.

- IF THERE IS SOMETHING YOU REALLY LIKE, YOU TEND TO OVERPAY. THATS TRUE IN ART, COINS, JEWELRY, ETC. THERE IS ALSO THE WOW FACTOR FOR UNIQUE ITEMS.

- I MYSELF BOUGHT LOTS OF COIN JEWELRY, MOST WITH THE EXPECTATION OF AN INVESTMENT, BUT YOU GROW ATTACHED TO THESE ITEMS, AND I'LL PROBABLY END UP KEEPING THEM ALL AND PASSING THEM DOWN TO MY SON! SO BEWARE IF BUYING FOR INVESTMENT, DONT GET ATTACHED!!!!!

- AS FOR BUYING, I SUGGEST LOOKING AT LISTINGS MANY DAYS OUT AND EITHER WATCHING IT OR PUTTING A LOW BID ON IT, AND GIVE TIME TO THINK ABOUT IT.. DO YOU REALLY WANT IT? DOES IT SUITE YOUR STYLE? WHAT IS YOUR MIN/MAX PRICE TO BE PAID? IS THIS AND INVESTMENT? OR FOR 'FLASH' VALUE?

GOLD COIN JEWELRY IS FASCINATING... YOU CAN GET COINS IN JEWELRY FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD - CANADA, USA, EUROPE, AUSTRALIA... WATCH OUT FOR THE MIDDLE EAST AND ASIA.. THEIR COINS ARE COUNTERFEITED FAR MORE THAN ANYWHERE ELSE!