Steve,
In 1979, as a bench jeweler in Maui, Hawaii, I met a guy who
traveled the world and made his living as a coin cutter. He also
claimed to be the great-grandson of Lionell Barrimore, incidentally.
Besides the mandatory sack of foreign coins and lots of sawblades,
he had a novel benchpin/coin holder he traveled the world with. He
had a pair of 6 in.strap hinges, connected by a thin steel cable. The
first strap hinge was lined with leather, and slotted on the leading
edges. This hinge he clamped down to the bench or table top he was
cutting on, and this was connected by a cable to the other hinge on
the floor, which served as a foot pedal. While cutting a coin, he
would hold the coin between the jaws of the top hinge by pushing down
on the "foot pedal" hinge, which pulled the top of the "cutting"
hinge down to clamp the coin without pressure from his hand. In this
way, he could use the hand opposite his saw hand to position the coin
in the jaws of the cutting hinge/bench pin, while the pressure needed
to hold the coin was generated by his foot. Very clever!
I saw another coin cutter in Mexico, years ago, who mounted his
simple bench pin on the end of a short length of broomstick, which he
propped between his legs as he sat and sawed, sitting on a short
stool. Very effective, and he did some great work, too.
You've got to admire someone who can take his skill on the road with
a minimum of tools, and manage to make a living at it.
---Jay Whaley
