Coin Furniture

Forget spare change under the cushion. Johnny Swing uses it as the cushion. In fact, coins are pretty much the whole couch and chair.For the 7 1/2-foot-long nickel couch that is part of his Obsessive Furniture line, the Vermont-based artist constructs a stainless-steel frame with dips and curves to support the seat, lower back, shoulder blades and arms. Then he withdraws 6,400 nickels from the bank and welds them onto the frame. He polishes the coins, or simply leaves the blue and gray hues that develop during the welding. The couch, which is surprisingly comfortable, sells for $25,000.

Swing started with pennies because he liked the idea of making art out of something that had little value. But when the Treasury Department switched to zinc instead of copper -- and the zinc exploded under Swing's welding torch -- he turned to nickels, dimes, quarters and half dollars.

The Gallery of Functional Art in Santa Monica has his quarter chair ($6,800), half-dollar butterfly chair ($9,000) and a chair made of 96 baby-food jars ($3,400). For more information, call the gallery at (310) 829-6990 or visit www.johnnyswing.com