Newman Numismatic Portal at Washington University in St. Louis | Comprehensive Research & Reference for U.S. Coinage

COINS IN LUCITE

The E-Sylum (11/29/2020)

Book Content

COINS IN LUCITE

Justin J. Perrault writes:

"I loved that old Esquire ad about a cigarette lighter with coins embedded in Lucite. Yes, I am sure it has really "held its value." Embedding things in Lucite seemed to be all the rage those days. I have a letter holder from the 1960's that has a general selection of period US coins embedded into it. A few months ago I also picked up a booklet from the 1960's that gave detailed instructions on how to create a decorative piece with anything embedded in Lucite, an interesting piece of ephemera for sure."

Bruce Perdue writes:

"I have two lighters with coins embedded in Lucite. One has a 1962 proof set embedded in the Lucite. The second one has random coins; a 1964 Quarter, 1964 nickel, and a 1953 dime. I also had a lighter similar to the one in the ad, however, it met an untimely end when it fell to the floor and shattered."

I grew up in a house with ashtrays in nearly every room, including the bathrooms. My own homes have never had ashtrays and our children would recognize neither ashtrays nor cigarette lighters. Interesting artifacts of a bygone era. Smoking hasn't disappeared of course, but these types of lighters have gone the way of the buggy whip and carpet beater.-Editor

Bruce adds:

"I have other Lucite items that might be of more interest to the E-Sylum audience. There are several that have no mate and several pairs. These are all hand made. A layer of acrylic is poured into what is usually a cardboard mold and the coins are placed by hand into the acrylic, a layer at a time. Each layer has to set partially before the next is placed.

None of these are proof sets. The single wedge-shaped bookend has 1973 uncirculated cents."