Numismatic Art: Penny Portrait launches Kickstarter campaign

How would you like to create a portrait of Abe Lincoln from old pennies?

Another startup has joined the crowd funding craze, however this business is decidedly low tech. Austin entrepreneur Maury McCoy has created a kit that allows people to create a portrait of Abe Lincoln from their old pennies.

“It was just this wacky idea I had that I mainly wanted to do for myself. On a whim, I created a website to see if others might like it and next thing you know I’m getting calls from history museums and gift catalogs.” Each kit includes a poster of Abe Lincoln made from images of actual pennies.

The poster is suitable for framing as is, but with a little effort, some glue, and 846 pennies, anyone can have a unique work of art. All one needs to do is match their pennies to one of the four shades on the poster and glue them on. It’s like color by numbers but with coins.

The initial print run was rather small, so Maury decided to try Kickstarter to increase awareness and determine demand for a follow up print run. The goal being to get unit costs low enough that it would be possible to approach major retailers. “It’s really a fun little project.

I’ve added a bunch of extras in each kit like a 1943 steel penny along with a booklet that has info about Lincoln, coin collecting and even chemistry experiments you can do with pennies. Teachers have loved that aspect of it.” The Kickstarter campaign just recently launched and runs through April 19th.

About Penny Portrait

Penny Portrait is an Austin, Texas-based business owned by Maury McCoy. Additional information about the product can be found at www.PennyPortrait.com.