Can someone explain to me what "a coin quilt" is and how it got its name? I have seen some examples but would like to know its origin and what it needs to include. Thanks in advance for your collected wisdom.

The strips in the quilt resemble the side view of a stack of coins.

I sort of made that up but that's the way I've always thought of the design. ;-)

There are variations - the Chinese Coin, Roman Coin, Bars quilts. I think the distinction is if it's one solid stack of coins, or if the coins are broken up into little stacks.
...from http://maryquilts.blogspot.com/2007/08/ugh.html

Here's one for $6800: :roll:
http://www.stellarubinantiques.com/i...737697sra.html

the chinese coin quilt has been around for a long time!
according to Barbara Brackman's book Encyclopedia of pieced blocks
the earliest example is 1850
there are a few variations of the block ...thus the different names!
ie roman square when every fourth block is dark,
chinese coins the blocks are actually different sizes;
bars when the blocks are all the same size and the veritcal rows in between are the same size...
etc
hope this helps!
think today we classify all of these quilts as chinese coins.

sometimes 5" charms are used for the strips in a coin quilt and then it's a nickle quilt-

Hi...,

Chinese coin quilt provides a simple way to use up fabric scraps. It hardly requires some fabric strips and a few basic instructions. The small rectangular fabric strips represent stacks of coin.