Hello and happy March! We are excited to introduce a maker unlike any that we have featured so far on the blog. Her name is Roxann Kesterson, but many people know her as The Coin Lady. Roxann is the owner of and maker at Carved Coins, where that’s quite literally what she does. We don’t mean to make it sound simple, as the process is tedious, and the final product is absolutely beautiful, but that’s truly the nature of her business and what she does - we can’t think of a better description than that! She claims that she never was and still isn’t an artistic person and can’t even draw so much as a stick person, but she has always loved different tools and working with them.
We’re just going to quote Roxann directly here since she explains so well. “The art of Coin Carving started during the Civil War where soldiers would gather coins from their travels and carve or etch into them at night. They were called “Love Tokens” and would often take months to create a single piece. I was inspired by the idea that in the midst of a war, soldiers would still find the time to make something for someone they love. So why can’t we find time now?” …and that’s exactly what she did, started making time to create! She started out carving coins for family and friends that were celebrating something, or were moving to a new state and never intended for her expression of love to become an actual business, but eight years later here she is, carving coins as her lively hood. She says the official job title is ‘numismatic artist.’
Roxann says her favorite part in the process is, “using the same tools and techniques that the soldiers used to first make this lost trench art during the Civil War and sharing its history with new customers.” Her best sellers are mainly Michigan themed carvings, but she absolutely loves any chance to make something custom and extra meaningful for someone. Last, she adds that carving coins is completely legal incase you were wondering!
You can visit The Coin Lady at these upcoming events (All Things Detroit 3/28, Grosse Pointe Art Fair 5/22-5/23, Art on the River 6/11-6/13, and Makers Mart 6/18-6/19), stop in and shop select designs in our store, or by clicking through to her website below!
