Unusual penny

[Guest bluenovember]

My dad has had this unusual penny in his bits and pieces box for years. He can't remember how he got it. It's the size of an old penny with George V on the front - it has a worn look. The back is hollow. It appears to be made from metal (it smells like a coin ie metalic) but I have no idea of its origins. Can anyone help with this unusual piece?

[TomGoodheart 434]

Does it have spiral groves inside the hollow side? If so, I have one the same, which I got from my Dad. It's a real penny, hollowed out.

I'm not sure if there was a phase for making these things to include in magic sets (Dad was quite into tricks and stuff). I seem to also remember a suggestion that apprentices were trained to use a lathe accurately by being asked to hollow out a coin - I don't imagine it was easy to leave a shell of uniform thickness until you got the knack of it.

Either way they crop up occasionally, but I've only seen fronts - I'm still hoping to find a 'back' for mine!