Hello and well met. My name is Tom Maringer, and I'm a maker. I have not read the WoT series yet, much to my loss apparently. I promise to begin righting that imbalance soon. I cut my teeth on Burroughs, Wells, Heinlein, Asimov, Clarke, and Doc Smith, slid through Robert E. Howard and H.P. Lovecraft, then flipped over to Tolkien in the '60s and then flopped again in the direction of George R.R. Martin in the '90s. I have spent most of my life in the workshop making things. I was a sword maker for many years and always wondered why people were so interested in a "heron marked" blade. In recent years I have turned to the less-lethal art of making fantasy coins. If you're into Game of Thrones at all you may have seen some of the licensed coinage I do for that world. It was those coins that brought me to the attention of the good folks over at Bandersnatch. I've just released the first of (hopefully) many new coin types. I don't want to spam your forum with a bunch of links, but if you're interested you will be able to find them. The first coin for the series is a Manetheren Golden Crown of Elliande, a fantasy piece meant to represent the coins of the hoard found by the mayor of Fyall (wikis are great) in book 3. They're at Ta'veren Tees, as well as the Shire Post online store, eBay, and Amazon.com. Next up will be a Tar Valon Mark. That is a more important coin as far as the story is concerned, and I wanted to get my feet wet with an initial project before tackling it. We have three or four more coins that are mentioned in the text on a short list of things to make for the future, but always seeking more suggestions. There would exist many other coins that are never specifically mentioned, in order to form a useful monetary coinage.
I am intrigued by the whole concept of creating small everyday objects (like coins) from fantasy worlds. Large unique objects, like swords or amulets, are fine as props... but in reality there would be only one of each of those, and so it breaks the immersive fantasy spell for there to be many examples of the same thing in existence. But coins are different... there are SUPPOSED to be many of them around... many people can have the same coin and it actively supports the tactile immersivity of each piece. At least, that is how I see it, and that is the goal that has driven my efforts. The greatest compliment I ever received was from a young man who had purchased some coins from me by mail order, and after receiving them he said: "I had always thought that those stories were just made up.... but these coins are REAL!" He experienced a real SOD moment... a Suspension Of Disbelief! How I envy him that... to actually FEEL the fantasy world take shape around you!
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Hello and well met. My name is Tom Maringer, and I'm a maker. I have not read the WoT series yet, much to my loss apparently. I promise to begin righting that imbalance soon. I cut my teeth on Burroughs, Wells, Heinlein, Asimov, Clarke, and Doc Smith, slid through Robert E. Howard and H.P. Lovecraft, then flipped over to Tolkien in the '60s and then flopped again in the direction of George R.R. Martin in the '90s. I have spent most of my life in the workshop making things. I was a sword maker for many years and always wondered why people were so interested in a "heron marked" blade. In recent years I have turned to the less-lethal art of making fantasy coins. If you're into Game of Thrones at all you may have seen some of the licensed coinage I do for that world. It was those coins that brought me to the attention of the good folks over at Bandersnatch. I've just released the first of (hopefully) many new coin types. I don't want to spam your forum with a bunch of links, but if you're interested you will be able to find them. The first coin for the series is a Manetheren Golden Crown of Elliande, a fantasy piece meant to represent the coins of the hoard found by the mayor of Fyall (wikis are great) in book 3. They're at Ta'veren Tees, as well as the Shire Post online store, eBay, and Amazon.com. Next up will be a Tar Valon Mark. That is a more important coin as far as the story is concerned, and I wanted to get my feet wet with an initial project before tackling it. We have three or four more coins that are mentioned in the text on a short list of things to make for the future, but always seeking more suggestions. There would exist many other coins that are never specifically mentioned, in order to form a useful monetary coinage.
I am intrigued by the whole concept of creating small everyday objects (like coins) from fantasy worlds. Large unique objects, like swords or amulets, are fine as props... but in reality there would be only one of each of those, and so it breaks the immersive fantasy spell for there to be many examples of the same thing in existence. But coins are different... there are SUPPOSED to be many of them around... many people can have the same coin and it actively supports the tactile immersivity of each piece. At least, that is how I see it, and that is the goal that has driven my efforts. The greatest compliment I ever received was from a young man who had purchased some coins from me by mail order, and after receiving them he said: "I had always thought that those stories were just made up.... but these coins are REAL!" He experienced a real SOD moment... a Suspension Of Disbelief! How I envy him that... to actually FEEL the fantasy world take shape around you!