"The Panhandler" Cigar Box Guitar Bridge with vintage U. S. Silver Dimes

Bring a bit of American history to your next build with these beautiful Made-in-the-USA hardwood bridges that feature classic silver U. S. coins!

These bridges are cut from 1/8" thick genuine mahogany panels and laser-engraved a custom design, and also with special recesses that we glue two vintage U. S. Mercury dimes into.

These dimes were made by the United States Mint from 90% pure silver between the years 1916 and 1945. That stretch of 29 years saw America's involvement in World War I, the Roaring Twenties, Prohibition, the 1929 stock market crash, the Great Depression, the New Deal, and finally World War II - quite an eventful span! Have you ever heard the old saying from the Great Depression "Brother, can you spare a dime?" Well, they were talking about these dimes. It is from that aspect of their history that we got the name "The Panhandler".

This bridge also includes a saddle cut from exotic Padauk hardwood. The saddle comes in an unshaped state, to make it as versatile as possible for use on different styles of instrument - simple sand/file it to your desired shape/height and notch it for the number of strings you intend to use. The bridge piece also is not finished and can be lightly sanded on the edges if desired (be careful not to sand the surface of the coins though, as it will scratch them).

The bridge base plate is 4 1/8" long by 1" wide by ~1/8" thick. The saddle piece is 2" long by 1/2" tall. When inserted into the slot in the bridge, the total height of the saddle from the surface of the instrument is 3/8", but you can of course file this down as desired. Once you have the saddle shaped as desired, we recommend gluing it into the slot in the bridge.

These dimes are real, vintage, circulated silver dimes produced by the U. S. mint. Their dates range from the 1920's to the 1940's, and their "melt weight" is about 2.5 grams. The coins we use are "common date" coins with no real numismatic value beyond the value of the silver. Please note: We do not overly polish or buff the coins that we mount into these pieces, prefering to leave them in their natural state of coloration and patina from years of circulation. If you prefer a shinier finish, you can always use some extra-fine steel wool to buff them up a bit.