569 pointsby jxmorris127 months ago31 comments
  • theden7 months ago
    In the HTML there's a cool comment

          <!-- Hello this is Theo. Yes I know how to do web design. -->
          <!-- You have found my secret message. -->
          <!-- It is a coin emoticon picture. -->
          <!--
                         ______________
            __,.,---'''''              '''''---..._
         ,-'                                       '`-.
        |                      ONE                     |
        |                    THNICKEL                  ,
        |'-.._                                    __,,-
        |      ''`---.....______________.....---''     |
        |                                              |
        |                                              |
        |                                              |
        |                                              |
        |                                              |
        |                                              |
        |                                              |
        |                                              |
        |                                              |
         '-.._                                   __,,-`
              ''`---.....______________.....---''
        -->
    • kmoser7 months ago
      That "stretching" (!) the definition of "emoticon." I would call it ASCII art.
      • curveship7 months ago
        it's an emothickon
      • bigyabai7 months ago
        If it was emoticon-sized then you wouldn't be able to appreciate the tasteful thickness of some wide wampum.
      • dredmorbius7 months ago
        Clearly, this is neither.

        It's an emoticoin.

      • fitsumbelay7 months ago
        ... which makes it grrrrreat
    • jasonm237 months ago
      Proudly built with Frontpage 98 ... I nearly spit my coffee.
    • account427 months ago
      This is exactly what the internet should be.
      • kcplate7 months ago
        It made me happy to see it and updated in 2025. I miss this internet.
    • 7 months ago
      undefined
    • vpShane7 months ago
      Epic.
  • theodorenichols7 months ago
    Hello This is Theo. I have paused sale of the Coins to handle pre-orders. There are some left for Later. Thank You for your interest in substantial coinage
    • a_c7 months ago
      I like your page. Wish more web pages are like that. Would you ship to the UK when open to order again?
    • sizzle7 months ago
      The man, myth, and legend himself! Can I get a coin?
      • theodorenichols7 months ago
        I will (benevolently) accept a trade of some of your thin coins for a thick one. Next week1

        P.S. It will require aLARGE quantity of thin coins, due to their relative worthlessness and pathetic Nature

        • lxgr7 months ago
          Would feeble personal cheques or money orders be acceptable too, despite featuring at least 50% fewer dimensions?
          • theodorenichols7 months ago
            iF THE BANK ACCOUNT BACKING THE CHEQUE IS NOT SIMILARLY enfeebled
            • lxgr7 months ago
              Backed by the full faith and credit of a person you met on the Internet.
        • sizzle7 months ago
          Where may I send the thin coins or will digital coins suffice?
    • shreyansdoshi7 months ago
      Love your page man! xD
    • wsve7 months ago
      Do you plan to branch out to new coin lines?
      • theodorenichols7 months ago
        Yes I am considering an annual release of thicker coins nickels are not the only coin suffering from slight stature
  • atomic_cowprod7 months ago
    Theo: I'm not sure if you still read this echo, but I've been trying to call you about my pre-order, but it looks like your BBS is still down. If you can get back to me, send me netmail. I'm at 1:342/76 for Fido and 11:420/69 for MJNet.

    -- SLMR/2 2.4b Origin: Sunnyside Acres -- (203) 555-1212 -- 1:342/76

    Windows is not a virus, viruses DO something.

    • crike7 months ago
      He’s busy minting with his hammer.
    • theodorenichols7 months ago
      Hello Mr. Prod,

      I do not understand your message but you may send me an e-Mail or reach me here

  • Aardwolf7 months ago
    I like the throwback 1998 design while it's created in 2025. They got it down even to the colored grain on the photographs and text with jpeg artifacts on them - even though that is something that actually did improve in 2025 :)
    • bartread7 months ago
      > that is something that actually did improve in 2025

      Aye, but the old skool way fits the overall aesthetic better. They've even got a few animated GIFs.

      I actually really love the way this site looks - I miss the days when most websites looking something like this, especially where they've avoided going full Christmas tree with the design. And look at how fast it loads.

    • qsort7 months ago
      It might be 1998 design, but I'd much rather visit a 1998 website than the vast majority of "modern" stuff. My other screen has Teams on it and without a shred of irony and before accounting for the waste of resources, that website looks way better to me than an allegedly professional application does.
    • xnorswap7 months ago
      It hotlinks geocities via the wayback machine cache. I'd tut but hotlinking others' random images is very on-brand for 90's web design too.
  • velcrovan7 months ago
    Admins/mods: you should strip the Beehiiv link id from the link. https://thick-coins.net/
    • LeifCarrotson7 months ago
      And HN users should run the "ClearURLs" extension[1] (or similar) to automatically strip these and other tracking links from their browser.

      Or at least read the URL they've entered when posting and manually prune unnecessary parameters.

      [1]: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/clearurls/

      • lxgr7 months ago
        Or consider using Firefox, which has a native "Copy clean link" context menu option. Very useful!
      • jxmorris127 months ago
        My bad. Do they make this for Chrome?
        • mrguyorama7 months ago
          Only until it affects Google's bottom line.
        • WorldPeas7 months ago
          I believe brave has this functionality, and an adblocker
      • igor477 months ago
        Whoa the list of required permissions for you extension is long and scary.
  • Chant-I-CRW7 months ago
    Dang...sure would like some thnickels of my own. After that tree fell on my house it is really windy here. I could use something heavy to hold down my punch cards.
    • CoastalCoder7 months ago
      I suggest buying a Three Wolves t-shirt.

      I once saw a guy in a similar predicament. To address this, he donned his Three Wolves shirt and stood in an empty meadow by his house. Within 15 minutes there were 10-12 attractive women (some single, some not) circling him in a tight formation.

      He returned to his house and sat near the pile of punch cards (or coupons, I forget). His ad hoc harem sat as well so they could study his chiseled features, which kept the coupons safe from blowing away.

      I've heard that although the coupons have long-since expired, the women happily remain.

      • Chant-I-CRW7 months ago
        Legend. I could use a harem too. These punch cards aren't going to punch themselves.
      • Mtinie7 months ago
        Your unexpected anecdote perfectly encapsulates why I love HN!
    • 7 months ago
      undefined
  • waltbosz7 months ago
    I think this is a joke by Alan Wagner who goes by the handle truewagner. https://truewagner.com/ . You'll have to Google his socials to find his art.
  • jcattle7 months ago
    I love where he describes his minting facility:

    "My new state of some art facility is equipped with several tools and a powerful workhorse (me)!"

  • lqet7 months ago
    > Website proudly built with FrontPage 98.
    • Mtinie7 months ago
      You know it’s old school when it’s not “built with love”. :)
      • nartho7 months ago
        "Built with ♥ by our code monkeys"
        • 657 months ago
          "Buy me a coffee"
    • alexjplant7 months ago
      I proudly built my grandpa's photography website with a sheet-fed scanner and a copy of FrontPage 98 when I was in the third grade. Sadly it was hosted on the municipal utility commission's site and wasn't crawled by Archive.org so it's lost to time :-(.
    • morkalork7 months ago
      Takes me back to grade 9 and doing a group project in the library where everyone had to make a website on their topics in FrontPage. Whoever came up with that idea must have a tech true believer gen-Xer. It was actually kinda fun.
    • gazpachotron7 months ago
      One of the best things about FrontPage is the book that Charles Ferguson wrote about starting it, building it, and selling it to Microsoft: High Stakes, No Prisoners: A Winner's Tale of Greed and Glory in the Internet Wars.
  • IAmGraydon7 months ago
    I miss this web.
    • patates7 months ago
      Start something in neocities and join a webring!
    • rambambram7 months ago
      No you don't. The web misses you.
    • komali27 months ago
      Apparently it still exists! My friend keeps trying to get me to join his webring, whatever that is, sounds like a potential way to connect together websites like this though.
  • lordleft7 months ago
    This what I miss about what the internet used to be.
  • schoen7 months ago
    Since there's no specific verb in the Latin motto, perhaps it should be in the nominative ("nummi crassiores omnibus")?
    • Freak_NL7 months ago
      Romanes eunt domus!
      • theoreticalmal7 months ago
        People called Romans they go the house??
        • yard20107 months ago
          "Romanian people go home"
    • 1-more7 months ago
      Very amateur latinist but I'd say it works as Accusative of Exclamation with an implied "dō"
  • kshehab17 months ago
    Sadly I missed the window for thnickle pre orders but hopefully I'll be around for the thennies if the fog doesnt get me by then
    • bigyabai7 months ago
      It's only a matter of Thimes.
    • meepmorp7 months ago
      eventually, we'll have thalers (again)
  • nsb17 months ago
    But why not 'Thickel'?? It was right there!
    • justusthane7 months ago
      Because "thnickel" is funnier.
      • layer87 months ago
        Too close to thinckels. You might order the wrong ones.
    • dasil0037 months ago
      Shades of "you need a thneed"
    • lproven7 months ago
      Because it's a pun on his name, I would think.

      THeo NICHOLS -> THNICHOLS -> THNICKELS

      ... no?

  • naikrovek7 months ago
    This is one of the best things I have ever seen.
  • 1oooqooq7 months ago
    the design is old but it's marketing is very modern. showing feet to get money from strangers is very contemporary.
  • PaulHoule7 months ago
    It's an urban legend at the very least that you can improve the power of your punch by grasping a coin roll. I'm not so sure it's good for your hands but unlike a knife or brass knuckles you have some deniability. (Reminds me of the time that the store manager of a supermarket wrongly thought I was shoplifting and he followed me out with his clipboard which I'm sure he planned to whack me with and say it was an accident if I gave him any trouble.)
    • sandworm1017 months ago
      A roll of coins, or any other heavy object, will significantly increase your punching power. Short of ninjas or mma fighters, the average person doesnt have the twitch ability to throw a significant punch. By adding mass, you increase power without needing the speed. Hands are very light. Even a small mass increase will make a big difference.
      • vunderba7 months ago
        Yup. In fact, while boxing gloves are ostensibly for the protection of the fighters hands, the increased mass (approx 10oz for heaver weight classes) significantly ups the chance of a concussive strike and/or knockout.

        So... it is kind of a mixed bag in terms of if they actually make fights safer.

        • bichiliad7 months ago
          Relatedly: - The padding in fights is much lighter than in practice or sparring. The added weight is good for conditioning, blunts sharp impacts, and slows down your speed. - If you spar anyone, you're expected to have at _least_ 14oz gloves. If your gym says otherwise, don't spar there (and arguably, don't train anywhere that doesn't take safety seriously). - Luis Resto, a boxer, was jailed for swapping the padding in his gloves with plaster. He ended the career and permanently damaged the eyesight of his opponent, Billy Collins Jr.
          • dmurray7 months ago
            This seems a bit arbitrary since MMA gloves are lighter than boxing gloves. If you spar someone at an MMA gym you'll be throwing the exact same punches, but you won't be using 14 oz gloves.
        • 7 months ago
          undefined
        • globular-toast7 months ago
          I thought it was more because they can punch harder without breaking their hands.
          • sandworm1017 months ago
            Modern gloves are to spread out the impact to prevent cuts, blood, which was not allowed on TV once upon a time. The big puffy gloves only appeared when boxing looked to mainstream itself, to move out of the bars and become broadcast-quality entertainment.
          • bichiliad7 months ago
            That protection mostly comes from wraps, which you wear under your gloves
      • com2kid7 months ago
        Learning how to throw a punch isn't that much work and gives you a huge multiple on power output.

        Also throwing a bare knuckle punch against someone's head has a large likelihood of the puncher breaking multiple bones, though depending on the outcome that may be preferable to other alternatives.

        • thechao7 months ago
          Most people tend to punch with a loose hand to the top of the head: this simultaneously increases the chance of breaking their hand; reduces the impact force; and, strikes one of the most insensitive & hardest parts of the body (the skull). Trained fighters are targeting an untucked chin with a short high acceleration punch (jab, uppercut), with a tight fist. It is technically very challenging to do this, even for professionals.

          In general: use your sneakers; if necessary, push opponents away with with your palms and tightly held fingers.

          • com2kid7 months ago
            > In general: use your sneaker

            This is indeed the 1st, 2nd, and frequently 3rd, suggested strategy from any good self defense teacher!

      • jasonjayr7 months ago
        Well, you're right about ninjas. They have Real Ultimate Power, this website told me so: https://realultimatepower.net/ (Don't click unless you're ready to get pumped!)
      • TZubiri7 months ago
        Nice, this knowledge will help me grab my keys in some self defense scenario. Will practice on sporting bag to avoid injury and verify force increase.
    • pierrec7 months ago
      OK, "urban legend at the very least" is a confusing way of putting things, it's kind of like saying "this is false at the very least, possibly even true!" (in this case it's true)
      • PaulHoule7 months ago
        I’ll concede it was a poor choice of language. I heard about it first in the 1980s but looking for confirmation I could only find low quality evidence such as discussions on Reddit, quora and the like. No newspaper reports, no confessions that “I broke somebody’s nose”, no criminal charges, no discussions by martial arts instructors, nothing.
  • mhuffman7 months ago
    No ridges on the sides? This could be be trouble!
    • michelpp7 months ago
      Usd nickles have smooth edges.
    • KaiserPro7 months ago
      more aerodynamic
  • korse7 months ago
    Has anyone called the listed phone number?
  • cainxinth7 months ago
    If you thought getting hit with a sock full regular nickels was bad, you ain’t seen nothing yet!
  • syedumaircodes7 months ago
    I want a thnickel so bad, hit me up when you start taking orders again
  • 7 months ago
    undefined
  • dmitrygr7 months ago
    This is the internet i'll miss when it is fully drowned in ML slop.
  • gtbcb7 months ago
    How much were they?
    • CSSer7 months ago
      The design is ancient, but the dates are current.
  • fitsumbelay7 months ago
    the Tweet about his neighbor suing him over thnickels self-injury tho ... https://x.com/LegbootLegit/status/1919745971673551192
  • seniortaco7 months ago
    Coin.
  • turntable_pride7 months ago
    you know what -- hell ya
  • xnx7 months ago
    How does this website load so fast? Must be some advanced framework with JIT edge hydration. /s
    • eclipticplane7 months ago
      > Website proudly built with FrontPage 98
      • TZubiri7 months ago
        You know how antiques have a binomial distribution of value over time? They are valuable when new or very old, but trash when freshly obsolete.

        I think classic style websites are going to come around. Not quite space jam whacky era but better mother fucking website for sure

        • stego-tech7 months ago
          The success of NeoCities and static blog sites in general suggests you’re correct. Best of all, AI can’t produce sites that awesomely terrible - it’s a hallmark of authentic human creativity, under construction banners and all.
          • zxexz7 months ago
            I can’t produce a website that is half as endearing and fun as my 8yo self’s first attempt around y2k after earnestly reading my dad’s copy of “HTML For the World Wide Web” by Elizabeth Castro. The excitement of page counters, discovering CGI, even creating a really bad click which didn’t two time with JavaScript.
          • williamdclt7 months ago
            > Best of all, AI can’t produce sites that awesomely terrible

            I don’t have time (or enough interest) to try it, but I’d be surprised if they couldn’t with some half-decent prompting

      • Cthulhu_7 months ago
        Is that a new LLM code assistant?
        • Mtinie7 months ago
          Given the audience on HN I expect will be up on Hugging Face within an hour or so… :)
          • 1oooqooq7 months ago
            trained with data up to 1999.
            • imp0cat7 months ago
              Now you're on to something.
    • mystified50167 months ago
      I'm going to be using "JIT edge hydration" from now on, thanks
    • Cthulhu_7 months ago
      Has to be Rust based SSR using a custom WebRTC based transfer technology.
    • vpShane7 months ago
      It channeled when the internet was good.
    • acheron7 months ago
      I like your joke and agree wholeheartedly with your point, but it is awfully difficult to upvote a comment that contains “/s”. Usually that’s an auto-downvote.

      Just let your comment stand. You don’t need to call attention to the fact that it’s a joke.

      • yallpendantools7 months ago
        The Paradox of acheron: In order to point out character sequences that are insufferable in a comment, one's comment must also bear the insufferable character sequence.
      • buggy62577 months ago
        you would be both surprised and deeply sad by how many downvotes and comments they would get if they removed the /s
  • photios7 months ago
    So, no "thicc" jokes yet? Come on, people!
    • Cthulhu_7 months ago
      No need, the pun is in the title / on the website already.
  • fergie7 months ago
    I like the vibe, but is this vibe coded?
    • Cthulhu_7 months ago
      No, the footer says it was made in Microsoft Frontpage 98.
      • skinwill7 months ago
        The way Frontpage would vomit in the source code was the OG AI hallucination.
      • 1oooqooq7 months ago
        the O.G. vscode!