CHARM (Lucky)

This case claims priority to International Application No. PCT/US2024/014687, having an international filing date Feb. 7, 2024; this case also claims priority to and is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/107,065 to Bentz et al., filed Feb. 8, 2023, which is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/142,414 to Bentz et al., which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/959,305 to Bentz et al., the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties as well as their selectable parts.

The invention relates generally to luxury items in the form of charms, e.g., which may take the form of lucky tokens/holders. More specifically, the invention relates to optionally shiny and sparkly coin-based charms that objectively embody good luck, magic, goodwill and/or promise in a universal human manner, but particularly and generally to persons who believe that magic, luck, goodwill and/or promise should be spread through the exchange of tangible charms.

There is a saying that holds: “See a penny, pick it up. All day long you'll have good luck.” Consistent with the saying, there exist coins in all cultures that are thought to be associated with good luck as well as with goodwill.

Luck is often created and/or personalized. In some instances, luck represents the fulfilment of a real or imaginary promise. Thus, luck may be equated with a promise, wish, imagination, or hope, e.g., associated with the Make a Wish Foundation (wish.org), which creates life-changing wishes for children. Luck can also be associated with governmental matters; lucky litigants in courts win; losers may not be quite so lucky.

Luck's application may be legal in nature outside of traditional notions of government. For example, in the “law” of American football, two flips of a coin may be used to decide rules of play. A first toss decides who gets to “call it.” A second toss decides who gets to kick off or receive. Thus, while the probabilities of coin tosses are 50-50, it is interesting to note that about 60 to 70 percent of the times, the “caller” will declare “heads.” That is, there is an objective aspect of luck and luckiness that may not be purely random.

Luck may be good or bad. For example, a found or gifted heads-side-up penny is generally considered a good luck penny. A stolen penny may bring its thief bad luck. In some instances, the nature of luck may be transitory. In other circumstances, luck may exhibit permanence.

Coins are issued by governments as legal tender currency. However, the intrinsic value of such coins is associated with magical math that many find charming. For example, under current market conditions, a penny issued by the United States government is worth only $0.01 dollar. However, substantially pure copper pennies are worth more in metal, collectability, manufacturability and historical value than their face value and are worth collecting in large amounts for those interested in investing in penny collections. This is an example of magical math.

With the above considerations in mind, there exist many opportunities to provide a useful, novel, and nonobvious charm that conforms to wants of the luxury market with focus on luck, lucky items, and luckiness. The invention described herein represents unique embodiments of such charms, wherein the luckiness of such charms may be fungible, transferable, and/or passed on in a manner that perpetuates magic, goodwill, and/or promise, optionally in a rechargeable fashion.

As a first embodiment, a lucky charm is provided. The charm/token comprises a coin that represents the legal-tender currency of a member nation of the United Nations, typically after the formation of the United Nations as the nation is deemed a voting member thereof. Although the coin has a native color, the coin is coated with a material, e.g., typically a metallic alloy of a plurality of elements, which visually alters, in selectable part or in whole, the native color of the coin. For example, the native color may be altered so that the charm may appear gold, silver, and/or black, in part (selectable, randomly, and/or artistically) or in whole. The charm is held by a holder that holds the charm in a lucky orientation or manner, e.g., heads up for viewing. As a result, a sense of magic, luxury, goodwill, promise, and/or collectability is associated with the charm, regardless whether sentimentality is involved.

The coin may take any number of forms. For example, the coin may be a penny issued by the government of United States of America, a member nation of the United Nations. In such a case, the native color of the coin may be copper or an alloy thereof. In other cases, the native color of the coin may be that of nickel, aluminum, iron, or an alloy/compound thereof. Preferably, the coin represents the lowest denomination of currency for the nation associated with the coin at a relevant time. The coin may have a minting date in the 1940's after the formation of the United Nations, or in the more recent years, e.g., in the 1960's, 1970's, 1980's, 1990's, 2000's, 2010's, or 2020's. Such coins may be called pre-millennial, millennial, or post-millennial coins. Other lucky coins may, for example, be associated with a European country, e.g., United Kingdom, with a collection of European nations such is the case with Euro coins, or with an Asian country, e.g., India, China, and Japan. The United Kingdom is associated with royalty and rule around the world; at one point, the sun never set on the Britch empire. Thus, as a sign of goodwill, royalty of the United Kingdom may visit former British/European realms/colonies in North America, South America, Asia, Africa, and Australia. Even Antarctica has connections with Britannia because Antarctica was explored by Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton CVO OBE FRGS FRSGS. It is unclear, though, whether pennies have penetrated marketplaces in all seven continents, if one considered cruise ships (luxury or otherwise) that visit Antarctica, either by personal physical proximity or by use of marketing materials, e.g., electronically or via online means. The invention is particularly suited for vacation spots and resorts where magic, goodwill, and promise of renewal and relaxation may occur. The invention may also serve as a tangible souvenir or keepsake of pleasant memories.

Thus, the invention may or may not exclude coins of certain nations that may not “play well with others” as not-playing-well-with-others is typically considered not a property or characteristic of goodwill. Russia, as of 2023 or 2024, appears not to “play well” with Ukraine, but such ill will between the nations associated with the invention may be resolved in the future. For purposes of this case hereafter, the geographic jurisdictional issues associated with the invention are hereby designed as associated with all land masses of all continents as well as land masses associated with Oceania, i.e., Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic Oceans (and included seas).

Through experimentation, it has been found that coins and charms associated with actual and/or constructive governmental minting dates of 2023 and beyond, e.g., 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027, . . . 2030, 2031, 2032, . . . 2040, 2041, etc., may be effective to provide a particularly great sense of magic, goodwill, and/or promise. Such a sense of magic, goodwill, and/or promise is a matter of objective fact rather than subjective observation. In fact, there is current talk in the United States that pennies will no longer be coined. If this talk comes to fruition, the supply of pennies will be reduced, thereby rendering the invention more objectively valuable. That is, the embodiments of the invention will become more magical, will exhibit more goodwill, and will become more imbued with a sense of promise associated with a scarcity of supply.

Similarly, commemorative coins may be coined by national mints. Typically, commemorative coins have a face value that is lower than the actual value of the coins in terms of raw material, collectability, etc. For example, it is believed that the US mint still coins commemorative gold coins of approximately 0.25 ounces in weight that has a face value of five dollars, which in turn, as of 2025, retails on the open market for approximately $900 USD. Thus, commemorative coins may be used in a manner that is consistent with “magic” (as in magical math) and/or “goodwill” (which may be intangible in its pure form, yet still be legally operative) and/or “collectability” (which may be a thing valued by collectors and collections) and/or promise (which is intrinsic to items made by national mints). Such coins may be of a standardized or standardization nature.

The appearance of the coins/charms may be beautified by coating the coins with a precious metal such as gold, e.g., 10, 14, 18, 22, or 24 karat gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. Rhodium and/or iridium may also be used as a protective coating since rhodium and/or iridium, like gold, silver, and platinum, typically do not trigger any allergic reaction when held against human tissue for an extended time. As a possible working definition of an “extended time period,” it is meant that the inventive charm may be worn as a pendant dangling from a necklace around a human neck without causing irritation or any allergic reaction over continuously over a period of at least about one day to one week or more.

In other words, hypo-allergenicity is a key feature of the invention. It is “lucky” when no allergic or undesirable chemical and/or adverse human biological reactions take place. This is a key to the luxury aspect of the invention, as hypoallergenic metals and/or alloys, e.g., over all or substantially the entirety of the surface of inventive charm, provide a level of comfort not associated with nonluxury commodities. That is, the inventive charm may have no irritating surface material. As Coco Chanel, a purveyor of luxury goods, once stated: “Luxury must be comfortable; otherwise, it is not luxury.” Also, Chanel also has been attributed to stating: “Some people think luxury is the opposite of poverty. It is not. It is the opposite of vulgarity.”

Thus, money in the form of everyday coins is associated with luxury and, in turn, with a universal sense of magic, goodwill, and/or promise. After all, everyone is familiar with the usefulness and of the appearance of money. Contrary to certain aphorisms of stupidity attributed to Publilius Syrus, familiarity breeds not contempt but a sense of comfort; it is doubtful that any human individual, unless pathological, is uncomfortable with money in the form of coins. Comfort also means the substantial absence of pain or other undesirable (bio) chemical reactions.

Comfort is luxurious, not vulgar. Thus, comfort in the form of magic, goodwill, and/or promise, is also another key feature of the invention. Allergic reactions are the antithesis of comfort. Coins are not vulgar.

In fact, comfort may be an aspect of the invention that is both transitory and permanent in nature. That is, the invention may be represented by a tangible item of heirloom that allows the passing of good luck to successive generations. In such a case, with each passing of the heirloom, luck associated with the invention is renewed or recharged or even transformed into an even more desirable or special form that optionally leverages the power of generational affection and/or the power of belief, e.g., faith, and sentimentality.

When gold or an alloy thereof is used in the practice of the invention, an aesthetically pleasing hue may be achieved. Thus, the invention may involve a coating of white gold, yellow gold, rose gold, and the like. The more economically valuable the coating is in terms of raw material and processing expense, the more sense of magic, goodwill, promise the invention should embody.

In some instances, the coins may be coated with a nonnative material that is dark in color such as black for a masculine appearance. Coating compounds may include elements from the same column of the periodic table as Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and/or Zn. However, one must be somewhat careful with the use of Ni, e.g., because nickel sometimes causes irritation of living human flesh, e.g., when used as a post or as a hook in earrings intended for pierced ears. Thus, even surgical grade stainless steel may sometime not be suitable for use with the invention.

Thus, metals associated with the invention should not leave a mark on human tissue when worn for an extended amount of time. This means that certain metals and alloys should be excluded for the invention because tarnoutishing behavior of metals detracts from the luxury aspect of the invention. Because chromium is a kinetically desirable metal in terms of anti-tarnishing performance, high chromium content in conjunction with the practice of the invention may be desirable.

Further beautification may be achieved by bejeweling the charm, e.g., with one or more crystals. Optionally, bejeweling may take place on either face, front and/or back of the charm, and/or about an edge of the charm. Further optionally, the charm may further comprise a holder immobilized to the coin, wherein the holder may be bejeweled with gems or crystals, e.g., in pavé style. Sometimes, bejeweling only takes place on the holder without bejeweling the coin itself. The holder itself, e.g., bejeweled about its edge, adapted and/or constructed for orienting or otherwise rendering coins in a lucky manner, without a coin immobilized thereto, may also be considered a key aspect of the invention. The holder may permanently or releasably hold a coin.

In another embodiment, a lucky charm comprising a coin that represents legal tender currency of a member nations of the United Nations, wherein the charm is bejeweled. The Euro coin is particularly preferred because on one face of the Euro coin, a great work of art by Leonardo da Vinci may be present. The great work of art is generally known as Study of Man or Vitruvian Man (see.) Such great works of art are typically considered physical embodiments of “magic, goodwill and/or promise.” Sometimes, great works of art may be government sponsored.

The charm may also be physically associated with a trademark, e.g., the trademark associated with U.S. Trademark Registration No. 6026798 or the trademarks associated with U.S. Trademark Ser. Nos. 98/130,098 and 98130101. The inventive charm may, in addition or in the alternative, be associated with other trademarks and/or services marks as well, as trademarks are generally a legal matter governing goodwill in a commercial sense. The USPTO is organized as a part of the US Department of Commerce.

In a further embodiment, lucky jewelry or a collector item is comprising a coin the represent legal tender currency of a member nation of the United Nations, the coin having a native color, wherein the coin is coated with a material that visually alters the native color of the coin, and/or the coin is bejeweled. Such jewelry or collector item may take the form of a charm, ring, earring, pendant, decoration, or bracelet, of a sufficiently light weight so as to not cause discomfort.

Other embodiments of the invention are described herein.

Before describing the present invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to specific luxury items, as such may vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing embodiment(s) only and is not intended to be limiting.

In addition, as used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular article forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include both singular and plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a charm” includes a plurality of charms as well as a single charm, reference to “a crystal” includes a single crystal as well as a combination of crystals, and the like.

Furthermore, terminology indicative or suggestive of a particular spatial relationship between elements of the invention is to be construed in a relative sense rather an absolute sense unless the context of usage clearly dictates to the contrary. For example, the terms “up” and “down” as used to describe the spatial orientation of faces of the inventive charm do not necessarily indicate that a particular face of the inventive charm is located above another face.

In this specification and in the claims that follow, reference will be made terms that shall be defined to have the following meanings, unless the context in which they are employed clearly indicates otherwise:

The term “array” is used to refer to an ordered (or alternatively at least somewhat disordered) series or arrangement of items such as crystals or jewels. Arrays of the invention may be circular, semicircular, rectilinear, ordered, etc.

The term “charm” is used in its ordinary sense and generally refers to an item, e.g., a small ornament that may be worn on a necklace of bracelet, that is believed to have magical power and/or that possesses the power or quality of giving delight or arousing admiration. The power of jewelry and charms are generally known to fine jewelry artists such as Paloma Picasso, and information pertaining to Ms. Picasso's jewelry can be found at www.tiffany.com/jewelry/shop/paloma-picasso/under the Paloma Picasso® trademark. The artistry of the inventive charm may be theatrically based as well in a “Woz” manner as well.

The terms “electronic,” “electronically,” and the like are used in their ordinary sense and relate to structures, e.g., semiconductor microstructures, that provide controlled conduction of electrons, holes and/or other charge carriers. For example, the term “electronic cryptographic means” may refer to the use of NFT and/or cryptocurrency in conjunction with the invention in a manner that involves controlled conduction of electrons in a digital and/or analog manner.

The terms “fabulous” and “fabulousness” are used herein in their ordinary jewelry, fashion, accessory, and couture sense and mean amazingly good, wonderful, mythical, marvelous, superb, first-class, first rate, stupendous, tremendous and/or extraordinary excellent.

The term “crystal” is used to refer to a piece of a homogeneous solid substance having a geometrically regular form with symmetrically arranged planar and/or curved surfaces. For example, highly transparent glass with a high refractive and/or dispersion index may be used to form beads of crystals. Crystals are typically considered beautiful rather than ugly. Examples of crystals can be found at www.swarovski.com. Other examples of crystals may take the form of beads, diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphires, topazes, citrines, amethysts, quartz, etc.

The term “gem” is used in its ordinary sense and refers to a precious or semiprecious stone, especially when cut and polished or engraved. Gems and crystals of the invention may be natural, synthetic, or lab grown. Oxide gems, e.g., sapphires, rubies, silicates, etc., are particularly lucky, irrespective whether the microstructure thereof are fully ordered, partially ordered, or amorphous. Optimally, lab-grown or synthetic carbide or carbon-rich gems, e.g., diamonds, may be used.

Natural materials such as tanzanite or jade may be used with the invention as well. Because natural materials may exhibit some flaws, the flaws may render the inventive charms more charming.

Thus, the invention may use any of a number of gems/stones associated with birthdays and/or birth months. The following table sets forth, by month, birthstones, guardian angel birthstones, and special apostle birthstones for each of the twelve months of the solar calendar year:

The term “jewel” and “bejeweled” are used in their ordinary sense and refer to precious stones, crystals, and/or gems, typically a single crystal or piece of a hard lustrous or translucent mineral cut into shape with flat facets or smoothed and polished for use as an ornament. Thus, a “bejeweled” item refers to an item that is covered or adorned with jewels.

Jewels and/or gems of the invention may take a single color or a plurality of colors such as the case with rainbows. Exemplary colors include clear (colorless), pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, etc. The jewels and/or gems of the invention may also have an index or refraction and/or dispersion similar to that of a diamond and/or similar to that of leaded glass. Jewels and gems are generally considered lucky and may be used to represent/provide a sense of magic, good will and/or promise.

In addition, different colors may evoke different emotions when the invention is provided in wearable form. For example, clear crystals may evoke hope and associated feelings such as divine connection, wisdom, oneness, healing, unity, guidance, truth, protection, and/or intuition. Pink crystals may evoke devotion, and associated qualities such as love, friendship, compassion, honesty, romance, health, generosity, kindness and/or faith. Vermilion crystals may evoke red qualities such as passion, excitement, sensuality, power, courage, positivity, vitality, strength and/or leadership. Blaze orange crystals may evoke happiness, energy, pleasure, adventure, fun, security, strength, enthusiasm, and/or optimism. Radiant topaz yellow crystals may evoke personal power, cheer, wisdom, new beginnings, clarity, enthusiasm, new awakenings, intelligence, and/or spiritual enlightenment. Evergreen or fern green crystals may evoke healing energy, deep commitment, love, abundance, gentleness, tranquility, calmness, personal growth, and/or patience. Skyla sapphire blue crystals may evoke justice, trust, empathy, loyalty, calmness, growth, willpower, peacefulness, and/or devotion. Royalty iris violet crystals may evoke liberality, empathy, loyalty, intuition, compassion, vision, psychic ability, spirituality, and/or openness. When the colors are combined into an iridescent rainbow collection of crystals, promise is signified and/or provided, with emphasis on hope, new beginnings, harmony, peace, love, balance, leap of faith, purpose and/or serenity. Thus, the invention may be evocatively lucky as well. That is, evocatively luckiness represents another novel and nonobvious aspect of the invention.

The term “legal tender currency” refers to tangible items that represent the expression of money. Examples of currency include the U.S. dollar, the euro of the European Union, the pound of the United Kingdom, and the yen of Japan. In the year 2023, the lowest denomination of United States legal tender currency in the form of a coin is the penny, which is equivalent to one cent. Similarly, in the year 2023, the lowest denominations of currency of the UK legal tender currency are the penny and two pence. Equivalent denomination currency of other countries of the United Nations (lowest or otherwise) can be used with the invention as well.

The term “lucky” is used in its ordinary sense and refers to having, bringing, or resulting from good luck, a force that brings good fortune.

The term “luxury” refers the state of comfort and extravagant living, regardless of whether the state of living is expensive in nature. Luxury necessarily implies “comfort.”

The term “native” as in “native color of a coin” refers to the color and/or hue or other innate characteristic of the coin that is associated with the coin's minting. For example, the native color/hue of a dollar coin in US currency minted in the year 2019 is believed to be that of manganese brass, which is like color(s)/hue(s) of gold. As another example, the native color/hue of a penny coin in US currency minted in the year 2019 is believed to be that of electroplated and untarnished copper. Thus, gold, silver, and/or black may be a “nonnative” color of the penny coin of the United States.

The term “obverse” is generally used to refer the side of a coin or medal bearing the head or principal design. In other words, the obverse side of a coin is the side of the coin that is the “other,” “back,” or “reverse” side. Typically, the obverse side of the coin is held in a right-side-up manner instead of an up-side-down manner. For US coins, the obverse and reverse sides are oriented in a manner such that upsides thereof are shown when the coins are rotated along a horizontal axis rather an along a vertical axis. Right-side-up is usually a preferred orientation relative to an up-side-down orientation for coin face display purposes. For non US coins, the obverse and reverse sides may be oriented in a manner that upsides thereof are shown when the coins are rotated along a vertical axis rather than along a horizontal axis.

The terms “optional” and “optional” as used herein, refer to referents that follow the terms existent or nonexistent. Thus, when the invention is embodied in a form that includes an optional element, the element may or may not be present depending on situational usage of the terms.

The terms “permanence” and “permanent” are used in their ordinary sense and refer to the state or quality of lasting or remaining unchanged indefinitely. For example, the invention may possess an electronic and/or other substantial quality that allows at least an aspect thereof to have a great, indefinite, lasting, enduring (or remaining unaltered or unalterable) quality.

The term “promise” is used in its ordinary sense and refers to a declaration or an assurance that one will do a particular thing or that a particular thing will happen.