White Copper Mountain Ghost Coin Thickened Round Pendant

The extra thickness is what separates this from an ordinary mountain-ghost plaque. Where does it go? Into a taller rim wall and deeper cuts; run a finger across and the relief is obvious. A thin plaque is flat after two polishing passes, while a thick one takes three or four and still has room, so the characters are there after years of wear. The weight is honest too — it does not sit in the hand like a scrap of sheet metal. The wall has to be tall enough to hold the characters, and any thicker becomes clumsy. That limit is set by feel, not by a number.

The face carries the mountain-ghost spell, the back the bagua. The script is talisman hand: strokes run into one another, heavy at the start and tapering to a point. A round field is harder to lay out than a square one, because the characters have to bend along the arc; set straight they run into the rim. That is why round plaques are spaced more loosely than square ones, with more empty air in the middle — it looks unfilled, but the space was given up on purpose. The bagua on the back has to be true. A broken line, or two fused together, drops the piece a grade, and anyone who knows will see it at once. If the field is given a matte finish, the cuts should be polished bright instead: coarse against fine, and the layers appear.

The price of thickness is weight. On a cord the plaque pulls downward as you walk, and a fine chain cuts into the neck. If your neck is slender, wear it shorter so the plaque sits above the collarbone; the drag is easier to bear. Against skin in summer, white copper conducts heat quickly — a moment of cold, then it is body temperature. With a chain, take the Chopin link; the tight construction carries this much metal, where a fine chain stretches in two days.

The tall wall takes the knock when the piece meets something hard, and the characters escape; that is the practical argument for thickness. The drawback is that dirt collects on the inside of the wall. Rinse it in the shower, but do not go at it with a toothbrush — the bristles carry the dark away. The bagua lines on the back are the shallowest cuts, so wipe around them; too much rubbing and they flatten. When it is off, lay it flat rather than stacking other plaques on top, since the wall chips at a knock and a deep chip holds dirt. The corners of the wall should be rounded. Square corners look better until they meet something, and then it is the corner that breaks.

Of all the charm coins, the mountain ghost is the one most easily dressed up as magic. Say it plainly: it takes the form of a folk coin, the face is a spell, the back is a hexagram, and what it offers is something to carry. Do not promise it wards off evil, and do not sell it at a premium as a talisman. White copper shrugs off sweat but not sulphur, so keep it out of a box with rubber parts. It works as a car charm too — keep the cord short, out of the line of sight, and expect it to tap the glass over a speed bump.