Opal Inlay "Fight/Yield" Decision Coin

  *"A man who knows how to battle, will win many battles. But, a man who knows when to battle, will not lose a single battle." -adaption of a quote by Sun Tzu (the Art of war)

  This coin is something that should have happened a long time ago. It's a coin that has as much meaning and symbolization to it as a person could want; or it can simply serve as a tool for a "flip of the coin" decision.

  The idea for this coin was included in artwork that I had "Sosh" draw for me back in 2024- Choices: you're faced with a multitude of them each day, and whether you realize it or not at that time, some of the decisions that you make will be life changing. Literally everything in your life involves choices and is directly shaped by each decision made.

  When looking at this coin, a person could easily form an immediate perception that it serves the purpose of telling them to "give what ya got, or give up." - on the contrary. As many of you know, most of what I do has a ton of meaning put into it and often holds a mulit-faceted purpose. This piece is no different.

  I think the "FIGHT" to most would be self-explanatory. But, fighting is more than just the physical form... this is a visual drive to go harder, never give up, never surrender. In this case, THE ABSENCE OF FIGHTING WOULD MEAN ABSOLUTE DEATH; whether physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually.

  The "YIELD" side of this coin is the one that I feel would be the easiest to be  misinterpreted. Many see that word and have associated it as being the weaker choice of the two. They see it as "turning over", cowering, and giving in... However, if you think about how many past battles were won, it was because of strategy. As much as a person would like to rush in and "give it what ya got" at the moment, sometimes that isn't enough to win; it isn't the wisest choice, and the end result can be worse than the initial situation. This especially applies to the battles that One faces with those that we know and come into contact with on a daily basis. Instead of thinking of this option as "giving up", I would encourage you to think of it as 'regrouping'. Don't get me wrong... there are situations where yielding is NOT an option!

  This coin is made from 100% solid brass. It is much thicker than that of one of my standard offerings with the reeded edges. Each face of the coin was deeply engraved (approximately 5.5 hours ea side) and then inlayed with contrasting lab grown Opal variants. The "Fight" side has Black Fire Opal, while the "Yield" face is filled with Dragon's Egg Opal.

  Each side was poured with a crystal clear resin, cured, and ground flat. After the intial grinds were done, the sides were conditioned and smoothed out. The faces were sanded in a series of grits, all the way into the thousands. Finally, the entire coin was hand polished with various compounds to bring out a beautiful shine.

  I tried to capture the full beauty and vibrance of the colors in each Opal. Using the iPhone to take pics, it isn't always the easiest to really grab the full detail. But, I think you'll get a decent feel from the pictures and vids that were taken. Now, there are some inclusions on this piece. Each is visible either in pics and/or videos. None of the inclusions (air bubble/void) affects the integrity of the piece or finish in any way.

*WINNER OF AUCTION: Do NOT pay the automated invoice sent via the site. I will send and invoice via Quickbooks once the winning bid is confirmed. This will save you money in the end, and will NOT subject you to undue taxes calculated by the auction application built into the site.

• "FIGHT/YIELD" decision or challenge coin
• 100% solid brass
• Black Fire Opal & Dragon's Egg Opal inlays
• Hand polished
• Hand finished
• 100% made in USA