11 Works of Art Made From Coins
Money is great; everybody knows this. Fluttering bundles of cash to throw at vendors and shopkeepers to buy stuff you don’t want is the Western way. As you can see from the above Doug was becoming more and more tight-fisted.
But what happens when all of those lovely crinkled notes turn to horrible, horrible coins? Where’s your idealised Western democracy now? It’s down the toilet; that’s where it is!
Dear Eurozone, don’t lose your head. (Source)
What to do with all those worthless disks of the impoverished? Spend them? Throw them into a wishing well? Give them to a worthwhile charity that runs solely on the donations of others because the government has cut it’s funding to bail out the banks? We think not. No; coin art is where it’s at these days. The opportunity to create a contemporary and provocative work of art that disposes of all of that pocket trash is a new craze sweeping the globe - and here are some fine examples of it.
11. Coin Pyramid
Dinner at Bill Gate’s house was always a demeaning experience. (Source)
What would you do if you had three trillion pennies and all the time in the world? Probably not build an enormous pyramid of bronze, that’s for sure. We’d have a giant safe and fill it with our collective wealth. We wouldn’t swim in it, though... that would be stupid.
10. Coin George
Early digital cameras were primitive. (Source)
What would George Washington say if he saw this? He’d probably say something so profound and meaningful that the Internet would melt. Well done to this artist who managed to find a good use for all those grimy coins that have turned brown.
9. Coin Spiral
Never has procrastination required so much use of a spirit level. (Source)
The sense of satisfaction that this chap must have felt when this monstrosity was complete must have been fairly overwhelming. Never wanting to jump on the praise band wagon too soon, here are some things that he could have done with all that free time: write a book; start a cult; solve world hunger; invent a new internet; learn to play a viol... the possibilities are endless.
8. Coin a Phrase
You wouldn’t try this in Greece. (Source)
Something as simple as words can sometimes be so effective, especially when they’re written in money. This work of street art in Copenhagen was put together using 250,000 one-cent coins and finished off by the passing public... who probably nicked some of it.
Wait… how many S’s are there in obsessions? (Source)
7. Coin Panda
I really hate guys in blue shirts eating sandwiches… there’s one right behind me, isn’t there? (Source)
A panda made from painted coins? Now we’ve seen everything. That is a lie. This piece highlights the spread of China’s wealth in an uncertain global economy. It’s also really cute.
6. Coin Hammer
Thor started to show off. (Source)
Some people are not content with leaving things the way they are. Take this coin hammer, for instance. Instead of bending a load of money to make a tool, why didn’t the artist just go to a shop and buy one?
5. Coin Tape Measure
Perfect for when you want to measure your table in lengths of coin. (Source)
Same artist; same idea. Despite being a wonder for the eyes, this tape measure doesn’t stand a chance of accurately measuring things. The fact that is made from the cut out heads of George Washington does work in its favour, though.
4. Coin Sofa
Do you like my sofa? It’s made of coins. (Source)
Do you fancy a little sit down and a chance to put your feet up? BOOM! Coin sofa. Yes, this grim-looking chap is Johnny Swing, and he’s made a sofa out of coins. It looks like the most uncomfortable thing ever.
Art better than expressive dance. (Source)
3. Coin Windmill
Daily Mail readers won’t like this one bit. (Source)
We live in troubling times. Oil is running out. Do we sit back and tolerate it, or do we go out there and discover alternative ways to fuel our lust for everything electronic? Well, this guy put some coins on the floor in the shape of a windmill. Every journey has a first step...
2. Coin Barak
Yes, we coin. (Source)
Just as George was recreated in coin form, so has America’s most recent member of the president’s club. This artist has a slightly different approach to coin art, as much of his coins seem to be painted and melded together. Special mention must go to John McCain in the bottom right-hand corner.
He does look remarkably like a squashed version of Yoda.
1. Coin Cuttings
You’ve cut up your coins? Ha! They’re worthless now. (Source)
We have to be honest; we have no idea how artist Stacey Lee Webber managed to cut and carve out sections of coin, but that’s why she’s the artist; we really appreciate their intricacy.
Dollars and cents are just that, and coins are a dime a dozen... whatever that means. While we have all been suitably astounded by both the artistic talent and worrying amount of free time that some people possess, we must admit that note art might just be where it’s at.
If you have been inspired to make your own coin art, then do go ahead. Alternatively, you could just buy some from some of the artists we’ve featured... we imagine most of them are a little short of cash at the moment.