Love is the greatest gift . . .

We recently had the opportunity to organize and evaluate an extensive coin collection belonging to a very special family. Our resident coin specialist, Andrew, spent hours examining the collection, ranging from Morgan Dollars, Peace Dollars, Proof Sets and State Quarters. This amazing collection was the passion of John - a man who served his country in the Army, a devoted husband, a loving father to three sons and grandfather to six grandchildren.

Our client, John's youngest son, asked us to create a custom CoinArt design to give each grandchild (now all in their 20's and 30's) which would not only incorporate a keepsake coin from his father's collection, but also meaningful wall art that would serve as a constant reminder of their grandparents' steadfast and contagious love.

To provide a little background, John and Doris purchased this small A-frame house years ago with a beautiful view of Lake Caroline – about two hours south of their home in Alexandria. They spent countless summers at the lake house enjoying all that lake living has to offer: fishing, boating, water skiing and family gatherings. They especially loved week-long summer visits with their six grandchildren. While Doris loved hosting her annual Fourth of July Celebrations, John loved to stay busy with house improvements and repairs (he even built the dock himself). While the lake house now belongs to new owners, the memories will live on in the hearts of each and every family member.

For this custom CoinArt design, we created a stylized version of the photograph shown above. We cropped the photo so that the dock became the focal point and then adjusted the contrast and color saturation so that the water took on subtle shades of blues and greens. Our client selected one of our favorite quotes, “Love is the greatest gift one generation can leave to another.” We were also able to customize each grandchild’s CoinArt based on their personal style and home décor - ranging from contemporary to farmhouse rustic.

From the coin collection, six beautiful 2002 Silver American Eagles were selected to be featured in the CoinArt. The official bullion coin of the United States, the American Eagle features Walking Liberty as she strides toward the setting sun, one hand outstretched as she walks toward an ever-brighter future.

The photo below shows the finished piece with two different looks that we achieved just by changing the mat color and frame style. (The CoinArt on the left features our gray mat and Vintage Black frame and CoinArt on right features the white mat and our Modern Black frame.) 

We would like to thank this special family for allowing us to be a part of such a wonderful project. I was told that there were a few tears shed and that the CoinArt pieces found their way into the homes of three sons and all six grandchildren across four states – New York, New Jersey, Virginia and Texas. I'd like to finish up this post with the wording from the gift card that was attached to the back of each CoinArt:

“This 2002 American Silver Eagle is from Grandpa's coin collection. It's framed along with another one of his passions – the view of the lake from their house at Lake Caroline. Both Grandma and Grandpa loved every moment spent at the Lake House, especially with their grandchildren. Whether hosting a Fourth of July celebration, water skiing, fishing off the dock, or just enjoying time filled with laughter – their love was steadfast and contagious. The quote on the front truly says it all, “Love is the greatest gift one generation can leave to another.”