Here's a unique pair of squash blossom earrings, created by Navajo artist, James McCabe. James McCabe uses authentic old Mercury dime coins to create these earrings. Mercury dimes were minted from 1916 until 1946. The coins are commonly known by the misnomer "Mercury dimes", although they contain NO mercury and although the figure on the coin is often thought to be the Roman god Mercury, is in fact a depiction of Liberty (a Winged Liberty Head design). The Mercury dime is considered to be one of the most visually appealing of all U.S. coins, and is highly sought after by collectors.
In addition to making jewelry, James is also a coin collector, which is what gave him the inspiration for these limited edition pieces, although Navajos have been using coins in their jewelry for many years.
The Mercury dime beads, which actually are two domed dimes bonded together, are formed using a very old Navajo technique in which the artist uses a mold to transform flat dimes into domed dimes. The blossom style earrings are accented with robin's egg blue Sleeping Beauty turquoise rondel beads. They measure 1-5/8" long from the turquoise bead to the bottom of the squash blossom. Everything but the dimes are sterling silver. Each earring weighs about 7 grams.
Brand new and in perfect condition. Gift Box and Certificate of Authenticity included. Check out the James McCabe necklace also for sale. The earrings are hallmarked 'JMc' and 'Navajo' inconspicuously on one of the blossoms.
Many artists are copying these earrings, but James McCabe is the originator of these unique earrings. James McCabe's jewelry is becoming scarce & hard to find because he is currently unable to make jewelry due to an unfortunate situation, which we won't go into here. It may be quite a few years before James is able to make jewelry again.
