Brighton Hood, 14, is a teen from Nampa, Idaho. Desiring to be a silversmith, he found that silver isn’t cheap. That’s when he found his niche, he made jewelry out of coinage. Antique, contemporary, or collector coins, it doesn’t matter to him. He continues to make high-quality rings for people looking for more affordable jewelry.

What struck me right away with Brighton is how resourceful he is. In most countries coins are so valueless that people don’t even carry them. Yet Brighton looked at them and saw them not as currency, but as something completely different. If we are to learn anything from his example, it is that every object serves more than one purpose, whether we know it or not. It is our job as entrepreneurs to figure out what those other purposes are, if people want them, and then to make them reality.

The other interesting fact about choosing coins over metal is the cost of acquiring more stock is literally pennies on the dollar. He pays people far more for their coins than they are worth, and in return sells them for a profit. He turns three or four one-cent pennies into a $8 ring, and everybody profits because of it. Perhaps that says something about where we place our value nowadays, that the same material worth 4 or 5 cents in one form is worth hundreds of times that in another.

Lastly, I admire his skill. He doesn’t just punch holes in coins, he puts wonderful designs on them. He knows that anybody could make rings out of coins, so he has to add extra value through his labor. With such wonderful designs and customizable options, it’s no wonder he makes a big profit. He even makes wedding rings!

Brighton Hood is the story of a young man who saw something of low value and, through his own hard work, made it something valuable enough to rival the highest valued competitors.