Quarters for picks?

[TheOne-N-OnlyHomer]

So I heard the song "Silver Quarter" by Chris Stuart and Back Country which seemed to allude to using a quarter for a pick, granted I'm fairly ignorant on my Bluegrass/Folk musical history so this may be common knowledge. Anyhow I stumbled upon actual quarters made into picks on eBay, opinions? Comments?

[David Lewis]

Brian May uses a sixpence in Queen. Admittedly that's for a guitar. But if it works then it works. I think billy gibbons uses one too.

[DavidKOS]

Brian May uses a sixpence in Queen.

And that coin had a smooth edge, not a rough one like a quarter.

Too hard, too round for me.

[CES]

Got stuck at my mom's house without a pick once a few years ago and tried it. Didn't care much for the quarter because of the rough sides. Nickel was smoother. But too thick, esp for guitar. Think I settled on a dime, which has the rough edges but isn't as thick, but really didn't like any of the above. But, it may be different for mando, where I play stiffer and thicker picks. Tone was pretty bright, iirc. Think I'll stick with my plastic varieties...

[TheOne-N-OnlyHomer]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-U-S-...item3f4c3023d0

[terzinator]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-U-S-...item3f4c3023d0

99 cents for a ground-down quarter, with free international shipping?

Must take a while to make each one.

Gotta be a labor of love, because I doubt the guy can break even doing that.

[Robert Smyth]

Don't forget Curt Kirkwood of the Meat Puppets. I used to see them in Phoenix at the Sun Club back in the late eighties. He'd use a quarter to pick and guys, if you think you've been gouging your mandolins with your fingernails, you should have seen his Les Paul in those days. Great shows in a tiny club, with the ceiling mere inches from Curt's head...I was always waiting for him to knock himself out cold by hitting his head.

[sunburst]

Too bad quarters don't make better picks, they only cost 25 cents.

[Ivan Kelsall]

The reference to 'Silver Quarters' in that song, is to the fact that Bill Monroe used to hand out Silver Quarters to children he met at Festivals. https://youtu.be/XZQ59QMU7QI - "In my hand a ''Silver Quarter'',in my heart a Bluegrass band......",
Ivan

[k0k0peli]

Not on mando, but on guitar I've picked with coins (I favored one Italian post-WWII aluminum coin), tableware (especially spoons, both ends), driftglass, old clarinet reeds (thick end), turkey quills (a tribute to my dulcimer days), wood chips, ceramic chips (broken teacup fragments), wristwatch crystals, and probably other stuff best left forgotten. I try not to destroy strings. BTW it's traditional to play mountain dulcimer by noting with a willow wand and plucking with pheasant quills, but feathers taken from young turkeys are also acceptable. Quarters, shaved-down or not, probably aren't, but hey, there must be a few dulcimer rebels around.

[AlanN]

Didn't Clarence White use a quarter? Seem to have heard that once.

[zedmando]

Billy Gibbons does grind pesos down for picks...

[UsuallyPickin]

I tried it. Once was enough. Django Reinhart was rumored to play with a trouser button. I tried that. I liked it better than a quarter. But I like more point on my picks. R/