coin inlays?

[caliber45]

Anybody ("then" or now) use silver dollars as cheekpiece inlays? I like the looks of the late 1800s dollars and think one might make a neat (not to mention simple . . .) inlay on a half-stock "carbine." -- paulallen

[Pvt. Lon Grifle]

I've had several rifles built where I furnished a US silver half dollar to be cut and smoothed and made as a hunter's moon on the cheekpiece. For one gun I even furnished the  commercial "moon pie" face  to be  copied and engraved thereon.   

I thought that one turned out especially well.   Lon

[JTR]

Cal45,
I have pictures of a Jacob Dickert rifle with an 1829 dated silver coin inlayed on the wrist of the gun. The rifle is much earlier than 1829, so it probably wasn't put there by Dickert, but by some owner that thought it would look cool. It's attached with a single nail right through the center of the coin, the same way that Dickert would have attached the original inlay.
I haven't seen a coin on the cheek, but see no problem with putting one there.

John

[t.caster]

Why not go GOLD! Sachagowea(sp?) so-called gold dollar! Haha

I've used train track flattened silver coins (pre-1964) for thumb piece inlets.

[Levy]

I have a buttstock from an over and under rifle (no barrels) that has a round hole in the cheek the size of a silver quarter.  I suspect it was removed at some point and spent.  It may well have been smoothed on the exposed side and had some engraving.

James Levy

[Majorjoel]

There is a quarter sized silver coin inlay on the cheek of a West Virginia rifle of mine. All of the coins engraving is completely worn smooth. The date is faintly visable.  http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq171/joelhall452/P1000712.jpg[/img]]

[Randy Hedden]

There used to be an antique shop right across the street from our antique shop that had a few old original rifles.  One that I almost bought was a stack barrel double with a double mule ear lock.  Inletted into the stock where a cap box would be was a $3.00 U.S. gold piece.  The coin was worn almost smooth on the side that was showing, but I suspect that the side toward the stock was still pretty fresh looking.  The dealer had a pretty hefty price on the rifle because of the $3.00 gold piece, but I felt the coin had no value other than the amount of gold in the coin.

Randy Hedden

[PeterB]

If you want a coin appropriate for the Golden Age, the half dollar of about 1808 and later is available in VF condition for about $100. We are lucky that hundreds of bags of these coins were set aside as a storage of silver in the 1800's. They were released when they had become collectable and were not used in circulation. These have the turban head which isn't too neat but have a spectacular eagle on the reverse. I'd suggest tying down a bezel so that the coin is not harmed. They are a great size being larger than modern silver dollars.