A coin surrounded and held by a Spanish Ring knot tied in paracord.
A Spanish Ring knot securely holds a coin.
Over the years I have tried to come up with ways of using my knots that would appeal to non-knotting people. One of the most obvious things is the key fob and its kin. There is, however, a limit to the number of identical items I think is fair to expect a hobbyist to tie. I never wanted to feel as if I were doing piece work in a sweatshop. That would be the quickest way for me to lose all drive to ever tie another knot. Because of this, I was always looking for a new and technically challenging knot project. I eventually decided to try making a fob/pocket charm-type thing that would hold a coin, or minted charm, of some sort. It would have to look good, and it would have to work well — this also meant it would have to work over a reasonable life span.
This is the method I came up with. I originally used Turk’s Head knots, but these didn’t completely satisfy me. One day I found the Spanish Ring knot; the problem was solved. After that it was just a question of material selection and technique.
Gutted paracord makes a fine, long-lasting fob. The technique is something you find over a string of attempts — as long as you cull mercilessly. I have made these for friends who have carried them for years while living in the tropics on sailboats. I have never had a complaint or a request for maintenance. I have had requests for more of them to be used as gifts, to curry favor with the local officials. In one gift you had a nice looking, useful fob — and a way to give someone a U.S. silver dollar — that didn’t look like an outright bribe.
The coin in the photo is a 20 Colone piece, from a trip to Costa Rica. The fob has done various duty over the years and has traveled long, hard miles. It still doesn’t show any appreciable wear.
Thank you for dropping by my site. I try to keep the parade of knots moving, and varied, so come back again. If you see me at the parade wave; it’s nice to know someone is watching:
William
It's Knot Art 
I am trying to replicate this fob using a silver dollar. I have finally figured out how to tie a Spanish Ring knot but my results when placed on the coin have gaps in the paracord. Did you double this knot to cover this coin edge completely or do I need to figure out how to add more bights to the knot?
Rawdinsroost :
Thank you for leaving a comment … the feedback lets me know what is of interest to my readers.
The first thing to do to make this project look neater and last longer is to gut the paracord. Without the inner cords, the paracord flattens out and lies more neatly around the coin.
As you have guessed, the next thing to do is to adjust the number of bights in the base Turk’s Head knot. Tie one just larger in diameter than the coin, if it looks OK, make the Spanish Ring knot. If you don’t think the finished knot will be tightly woven enough to make it look good, extend the base knot, then do the interweave. I usually start with a 3 Lead X 5 Bight Turk’s Head and enlarge it to fit.
I hope this gets you started. If you have any other questions let me know, and I’ll try to provide the help you need.
William