Here is one of the original coins to compare with my work. My replica is very close to the original I think.
Replica of Showa 32, (1957) Japanese 100 yen. The original coin was
silver. The material used here is MDF board which was extremely easy to
carve. The design shows a phoenix which symbolizes Japan's rise again
after the Second World War.
Here you can see the actual size compared to my coins. The white holder is 2" square.
Replica of Showa 34, (1959) Japanese 100 yen. The metal was changed to cupronickel.
Of the three coins this one with the rice took the longest to finish.
These coins were done in my free time at home and at work while I was
living in Japan. This particular coin took around eighty hours from
concept to finished object.
Replica of Showa 42, (1967) Japanese 100 yen. This is the current design being used in Japan.
Way cool! So, you carved little pieces to make the devices of of the coins, or did you take an MDF round piece and carve INTO it? Did you use power tools?
ReplyDeleteSo nice....
Thanks mlovmo. Take the Showa 42 coin for example. The base is a blank round piece of MDF board that was cut at the store where I bought it. I bought thinner pieces for the details that are glued onto the base. For all of the details my technique was the same. I made 1:1 scale black and white photo enlargements of the coins and separate designs. I then used tracing paper to get the outline of each design and kanji character. I put the paper onto the thin MDF board and with a hobby knife lightly scored the pattern. For the flower design which is a big piece, I carved right into the board. I used a mini scroll saw to cut around the flowers as close as possible to the edges first though. For the smaller kanji characters and numbers I used the scroll saw to cut them out of the thin MDF and then carved them buy hand to finish them. The raised rim of the coin was cut from a solid MDF piece with the scroll saw and then glued onto the base. So the big piece that was left from that cut became the flower design. The small pieces on the inside of the rim are actually wood. I cut each one to length and them sanded the them to make the round end and then glued them. It took a long time. On the Showa 34 coin the horizontal lines around '100' are real wood. The very thin circle around '100' is bamboo. I was able to buy it that thin. I split it so it would sit flat on the board then I soaked it in water, bent it and then let it dry. It worked out really well I think. I would like to make more because I love coin designs and carving.
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