Artist Turns Money into Jewelry
WVNS-TV, WV
Some people spend a lot of money on jewelry, but for one artist, the jewelry is money.
Story by Adam Baker Email | Bio
BECKLEY — Artisan Vivian Lilly from Hinton creates rings out of rare coins.
He uses a hammer and a file to smooth the coins and shape them into rings.
Lilly buys coins like half-dollars from shops across the country to turn into the unique jewelry.
The work takes him about three hours per ring.
Lilly calls the work a hobby, not a business.
He’s been doing it for 50 years. “I was working at a refinery in Virginia in 1957 and we did something one day and I thought if we can do that with that, then I can do that with a coin. So after many, many trials and errors I was finally able to complete one” said Lilly.
Senator Robert C. Byrd has bought three rings from the local artist.
The rings are on sale on Tamarack.
Copyright 2007 West Virginia Media. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
