Thought I would work one up & try it on either the Shiloh or the High Wall.

Does someone make either a complete sight ready to install, or maybe slotted blank, ready to accept the penny?

You'll have to either buy another front sight and pull the blade, or pull the blade in the sight on the rifle. File the penny down so it's the same height of the blade put it back in the slot and stake it down.

Remember to use an old penny. The newer ones have less copper, the newest ones are simply copper clad zinc. Mine is a 1976.

Until I was shown the difference between the nickle-silver and a copper penny, I would have bet money that the white metal of the factory blade would show up better.

Ed

Try using a sliver (pre64) dime. I have a Winchester M 92 that has a front blade made from a dime, looks great.

Try using a sliver (pre64) dime. I have a Winchester M 92 that has a front blade made from a dime, looks great.

Id like to see pics of both! 4-5 years ago on ebay there was a dandy Lib. dime front sight! I wanted it,I stoped a 90.00I think it went over a 100.00 Plus not good to be drinking while on ebay!

I vaguely remember my Dad making a coin front sight when I was a kid. I think it was a nickel on a SAA, but not sure.

Cool thread. I'd like to see some pictures too, please.

I have purchased old dimes at the coin shop and made front sites for some of my old muzzleloaders and the ones I have built lately. I like longer front sites but I don't want to cut up a silver dollar to get them. I can buy 6 front silver blade sights for what the coin shop wanted for a old silver dollar.

Mike

Patrick,

Track of the Wolf offers some base blanks.

https://www.trackofthewolf.com/List/Item.aspx/874/1

Go down to your local coin shop and buy an old Indian head penny. It won't cost much and you can shape the sight with the Indian visible. Way better for the vintage type guns.

Pics would be very nice....

I think sandwiching a sliver of bone ivory betwixt the copper coins would be the whip.

A fine drill in a couple spots and some thin gauge wire to hold it together would do the trick.

Not that I wasn't thinking of this for my ml build.....


(Although I'm not sure I want Abe on my gun)

Use the Indian head, or two silver dimes.

Sandwiching all those coins would make a terribly thick front sight.

Filing off the tail face to half width.

I'm working on a model...

I used a pre 82 penny on my 45-2 7/8 .345" tall. "In God We Trust" up.

Pat-
Here's the front sight on my Shiloh. The base is an original Shiloh, with the penny piece replacing the factory steel blade.
.

.
I like it very much. When there's any kind of light from behind with the shooter in position, the top of the blade glows about like a fiber optic.

I prefer the copper color to silver. One of my muzzleloaders had a very elegant sterling silver front sight that worked great in a green forest or grassland. But, in a winter ML match it became completely invisible against a snowy background and a white target. Because snow is not an unusual feature of the landscape in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, I switched it out for a bright copper front sight. I whittled it out of an Australian two-cent piece which is a somewhat wider than a US penny.

Based on extensive experience, the gunwriters of the 30s and 40s wrote glowing praises of the Redfield Sourdough front sight base with its brass face.

PM incoming.
--Bob

Very nice, on your front sight!

I've shaped the pennies from half round like Ranch13 to this one and think I got the back of the blade a bit too vertical here. In poor light, this one appears as a black post and doesn't glow like they do with more radius. In good light, the very top back of the blade does glow nicely.

I was working on a Coin Merit Badge project with our Boy Scouts. Our local coin shop had bags of foreign coins for something like $7 for a bag of 100 coins. They had British large pennies from the 1700's, German coins with beautiful eagles on them, some of which were actually silver. Some coins were much thicker than our coins. It's worth it to go look in the "Coins of the World" bucket at the coin shop, Joe.

Back when I was a kid, I had an Australian half penny. It was copper and about the size of a half dollar. Don't know what ever happened to it, but a person could have made a fine sight using it. miles

Thanks for the idea. Need to make a slightly larger brighter site for my rifle. Got a "Mercury" dime 1944 just waiting to be used.

Sharpsguy made one for my Sharps and it works great.

Bill also made me one however I had to take a Swiss file to mine and give it a slight taper due to my shooting specks which made it look like a 2x4 way out there.

Great Thread guys. You just gave me some really good ideas.
Thanks, O.R.

Silver may look pretty but when light hits it the sight picture may jump around quite a bit. Notice that most of the old Marbles and similar sights had copper/bronze beads . Those ole dead guys knew. Copper!!!! And an Indian head looks best.

I've a front sight taken off an 1893 Marlin that fits the sandwich description but it appears to be a factory sight. That or someone was good!