I am always thinking about coins and how I can turn them into awesome jewelry. I had this idea to make mixed metal necklaces with coins that were smashed on a railroad track. They would be odd-shaped and interesting. I couldn’t wait to get to work!
I looked at the commuter train schedule, recruited the help of a friend and headed down to make it happen.
Guys, don’t do this.
Learn from my error. It’s actually illegal. Now, listen, I did give this a bit of thought beforehand. I wondered if that old wives tale is true about coins de-railing trains, so before I left, I actually Googled whether or not that was true. The myth was busted! So, I thought I was in the clear.
I filmed the whole thing, you guys. For Instagram, actually. I thought it would make a fun post.
Anyway. I missed the train by a few minutes, so I laid out my coins, left to pick up my kid from school and then headed back down to pick up my loot. As I was collecting my coins, my 14-year-old son said, “Mom, the police are coming toward us. Should we run?” I said, “No. Oh my gosh, kid. We don’t run from the cops. I’m a grown up and that’s a good way to get in real trouble.”
We stood still, awaiting our fate.
Apparently, they have me on camera committing the crime. I explained what I was doing. It wasn’t terrorism. They asked me if I would rather be arrested or listen to a lecture on the dangers of coin smashing via train.
I took the lecture. It was 20 minutes long. To sum up, possible flying shrapnel, possible wheel slippage, the possibility of me getting hit by a train, trespassing on private property, etc.
They let me keep the coins I had already collected. I sheepishly had to tell them I had an entire row on the other tracks and for the sake of safety, shouldn’t I go collect those as well?
I came home with enough coins to make 11 necklaces. That’s it. But they were really cute and I charged “limited edition” prices for obvious reasons.
But, now that I’m thinking about it, maybe come summer, I should just find a more private space on a freight train track.
Perhaps with some tree cover?