Thorgonsi Copperhand is an old and delusional Dwarf desperately trying to reclaim the lost glory of ages past. He was born into a family of esteemed jewelsmiths, but because of the loss of the Lonely Mountain to Smaug his family had been forced into more humble means. So Thorgonsi was born in exile under the Blue Mountains. By the time of his birth, his father was making a decent living forging practical implements of iron; far less remarkable than the jewels he used to handle. But when Thorgonsi came of age to begin work at the forge, he refused to work with iron. He thought the metal was heartless and cruel. He instead insisted on working exclusively with gold and silver. But because of the apparent lack of such precious metals in the Blue Mountains, he had to make do with copper, the fairest of the more available metals.

So Thorgonsi earned the title of Copperhand, given to him by his father, and from that point on worked exclusively with copper. He refused to make weapons, and only crafted artistic ornaments. Not many other Dwarves had this idea of exclusively making copper ornaments, so these unique products of Thorgonsi earned a considerable reputation across the lands west of the Misty Mountains. The family of Thorgonsi became rich again, and as such his father was very proud. But this prosperity was not to endure, and oddly enough it was the reclaiming of the Lonely Mountain that brought about its decline.

When Thorin reclaimed the Lonely Mountain, Thorgonsi eagerly moved the wealth of his family to those halls, ready to utilize his skills to help in the rebuilding effort; but, as it turned out, thousands of other Dwarves had the same exact idea. There was a massive amount of Dwarven smiths trying to make use of their wares under the Lonely Mountain. The product of Thorgonsi was no longer unique, and so he had not earned himself a single profit since the reclaiming of the Lonely Mountain. He became financially dependent on the hoarded wealth of ages past, and his reputation as a unique smith was largely forgotten. Even his former apprentice, with whom he had a very close relationship with, became more successful than him.

With death approaching him in the distant but still impending future, Thorgonsi became desperate. He wanted to bask in the glory and fame of his youth once more before he died. And it was in this sorry state that Thorgonsi met the young and ambitious merchant Frimsi. Thorgonsi had been perfecting his skill in jewelsmithing ever since returning to Erebor; he wanted to honor his ancestors by continuing their craft now that the Lonely Mountain had been reclaimed. But until meeting Frimsi this craft was exclusively in the realm of hobbies. With Frimsi’s help however, Thorgonsi could make money from his beloved craft again, and a lot of it. Thorgonsi just had to swallow his pride and make jewelry of a very peculiar character. But few Dwarves are going to refuse a chance to perfect his craft while making a profit from it, so Thorgonsi agreed to Frimsi’s very unusual conditions. And Thorgonsi for the first time in several decades is earning money rather than losing it.