Nice Ring To It: Turning Pocket Change Into Dollars On Kickstarter

By John Dodge

CHICAGO (CBS) -- College student Mark Wylie must have felt as if he were on a carousel, chasing the elusive brass ring.

Now rather than chase the ring, he plans to make them and use that business model to pay for school

Wylie was struggling to pay tuition at Wayne State University in Detroit, working long hours at minimum wage and using credit cards to pay for food and bills.

He transferred a few years ago to Ferris State.

His financial situation was no better.

He started to sell jewelry one summer and that led him to discover that he could make rings out of coins.

So, he plans to turn pocket change into real dollars so that he can graduate.

Wylie is offering a series of different rings through a Kickstarter fund-raising pitch.

Pledge $65? Wylie will make you a ring from a Kennedy half-dollar.

Offer $25? A variety of different rings made from quarters.

For $150 or more? A Morgan Silver Dollar Ring.

So far, Wylie has far exceeded his funding goal.

He said he planned to use the money to buy basic equipment to make the rings.