"Thin Ones" Cigar Box Guitar Bridge with vintage U. S. Wheat Pennies

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

These bridges are cut from 1/8" thick genuine mahogany panels and laser-engraved a custom design and with special recesses that we glue two vintage U. S. Wheat Pennies into. "Thin Ones" is the old Hobo term for any coin smaller than a quarter. Pennies are about as "thin" as you can get.

These iconic pennies were struck between 1909 and 1958. The Wheat cent represents the first incarnation of what we know as the penny today. This redesign of the one cent piece was enacted by President Theodore Roosevelt in the year 1909, a century after Lincoln's birth to the year. Since then, the Penny has seen a few redesigns and special mintings, but the Wheat Penny remains one of the most recognized.

This bridge also includes a saddle cut from exotic Padauk hardwood. The saddle comes slightly rounded, but otherwise untouched 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 3/8" tall. When inserted into the slot in the bridge, the total height of the saddle from the surface of the instrument is approximately 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.

=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.