Polymer clay miniature coins for dioramas

I've been stumped for quite a while about how to make authentic-looking doubloons for treasure chests. Originally, I used gold cardstock and punched 1/4" coins and stamped them by hitting them with a metal button and a hammer. But, the coins were thin, kept slipping out of the chest and didn't have the look or the weight of real coins.

The main problem was how to do die engraving, and with what materials. I finally invented a method: using Instamorph Moldable Plastic for the dies (stamper) and Scupley polymer clay for the coins. Instamorph is moldable when placed in boiling water and hardens to a very durable plastic at room temperature. The die impressions were very simple:

FANCY BRASS BUTTONS from the fabric shop!

Button companies have already done the hard work by engraving the designs on the buttons. There's stars, sunbursts, anchors, crowns, heraldry shields, eagles, flowers, and all sorts of designs available. All you need to do is mold top and bottom dies using Instamorph and then press the button onto them while the plastic is warm. In a few minutes, the plastic hardens.

Knead Sculpey until it's soft and then pinch off small amounts and roll into little balls. Flatten them slightly with your finger. Alternatively, the clay can be rolled into a sausage shape, and sliced. The slices would become the coins. Leave them on a cold kitchen countertop for a bit- cold Sculpey makes better coins. Then, place the Sculpey coin planchet between the two dies and press. Every so often, it's good to wipe the dies down with a drop of cooking oil and a rag to prevent the coins from sticking.

There's a fantastic tutorial on "The Blue Bottle Tree" on the various methods of getting a metallic look on polymer clays: 

Link: http://thebluebottletree.com/metallic-effect-on-polymer-clay/

It turns out that I already had all of the materials I needed, so I didn't need to go out and buy anything. I used the acrylic paint method and simply painted the unbaked coins, let the paint dry and baked them at the usual 200-250 degrees. They came out fantastic. The "silver" coins needed an additional step- a black paint wash to bring out the details and replicate the real patina on vintage silver coins.

They are, on purpose, slightly irregular and sometimes crudely stamped, to emulate Spanish doubloons (pieces of eight) that are famous in pirate movies, books, stage musicals and Disney theme park attractions. Everybody loves pirates! In fact, this method closely resembles the real methods used in minting doubloons, aside from the materials.

The end result is an amazingly good diorama piece that looks and feels far more authentic than toy pieces or decor stolen from aquariums.

There are almost 400 coins in this picture!

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