Holed/pierced coins

Anybody here collect holed coins? They're more technically referred to as pierced coins to distinguish them from coins that were minted with a hole. Coins are holed after they were minted for a variety of reasons, for jewelry, to use on a keychain, to fashion into a button, and so on. Most dealers and collectors regard them as culls -- junk -- but they can be interesting, and some have considerable market value.

Want lists may be posted in the Open Forum only

 

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cave troll.. where art though
We have a guy here that has a nice big ol collection of em.. he will come out of his cave eventually

 

Yeah, here is a link to his thread about it.
http://www.cointalk.org/showthread.php?t=18153

 

I have a Morgan that had a hole. Someone plugged up the hole with (maybe) lead and it reacted with the coin.
Recently I saw a bunch of 1908 to 1929 Indian head 2 and a half dollar Gold coins with holes.
They were selling for about $150 each. Some were MS and nothing really wrong except the hole.

 

Not sure I understand this post to well. It is stated that you want coins with holes that were made for a reason and not just to put a hole in the coin. HOW in blazes would you know the difference. If I put a hole in coin for a charm bracelet or just put a hole in a coin it would just be a hole in a coin. I could tell you I made the hole for an ear ring and you'ld never know for sure unless you saw it on my ear. Or I could tell you I drilled large holes in a few coins and use them for in my nose to hinder breathing or just drilled large holes. How would you know?

 

I am here, occasionally. I started at Heritage this past Monday and my internet isn't set up at my apt. yet, so I can only sneak onto the site a little at a time, so that I don't rack up too much time on recreational sites at work . Once I'm more settled, I'll be able to be on a little more again.

Man I love that set! It is so much fun!

Reid, I will hole the coins you want and use them on my keychain for a month or so so that the hole is clean and meets your criteria. Let me know, just use a pm or email me through this website.

 

I think you can tell a fresh hole from an old hole. Unless you doctor it up a bit and make it look aged, a hole in a coin that you make tonight will still appear freshly manufactured next week.
Anyway, I was tempted to bid on some of the holed Gold coins, especially the ones that were in unc condition.

 

I've had a holed 1853 quarter for a long time. I guess it used to be a necklace, but, who knows...

 

i have found some at flrea markets but sorry to say im keeping them

one inersting one i found was a 1945 holded merk. for a necklace and still wear it on 2 dollars

 

It just proves that everything is collectible.

 

Just Carl: There are a number of ways you can tell if a coin has been holed just to create a holed coin. Victor mentioned one -- the freshness of the hole. Another is simply to ask.

The_Cave_Troll: Thanks but no thanks. If you hole a Lincoln cent out of pocket change and wear it on your keychain for a month, the intent is no different. But I appreciate your offer to do this (I'm making the assumption that you were serious).

Victor: You see a lot of holed Morgans ... and holed Barbers, nickel three cent pieces, two-cent pieces, Seated coins, gold dollars, and Trade dollars. Those are probably the most commonly seen.

See first post

 

I think people have been holing coins ever since they were invented.I have one from ancient Naples with a perfect little hole in it. I like to think that it was worn on a chain by a beautiful Greco/Italian woman but in reality,it might have just been a way of storing coins..on a string

 

A holed type set is one of my future projects so I save them when they happen along. My rule is the coin can't be holed just to be included in my set. I do have a nice holed Jefferson nickel.

 

Hi, GDJMSP. This is just a fun little set. I may create a little display to hang on a wall here where I'd put nails through the holes in these holed type coins. I did a fairly serious set of holed Bust dollars a few years ago, acquiring one for each year that the Heraldic Eagle variety appeared (1798-1803). Not including the 1804 here. Sold all of them off except the 1799, but that of course won't be part of this under $10 set. I still have a page up about these holed Bust dollars.

Some people (here too ) find all holed coins junky. But they really can have serious market value, in general anywhere from just above melt value to about 35 percent of a the same coin if undamaged.

 

I just saw this set. To each his own. But holing coins yourself is cheating. Seriously. No coin purist would damage a coin this way just to say, Here's a damaged coin. You rescue damaged coins. You don't create them. Even with pocket change. Again, to each his own.

 

ehh, my rules were slightly different than yours. I decided that I would allow myself to hole coins only if I could purchase them for face value. anything with any value over face was off limits for my drill. Obviously looking at my set there are a few moderns that I created for the sake of completeness (without changing the numismatic value of the pieces), but to each his own.

 

Sinner! May the gods of numismatics strike you down and make you into a Susan B. Anthony dollar. Strike that, a Eunice Shriver Special Olympics commemorative dollar. Strike that (strike three), a plugged, gouged, pitted, stained, nearly basal state Bust dollar, like this:

 

When I read items like this I usually run out to my garage and try doing dumb things associated with the topic. So I drilled a hole in a quarter, nickel and a cent. I brought them back in and pussed a cotton wad soaked in gun bluing solution into the hole. After drying I looked at each coin with a 20X and then a 30X minature microscope. I could not detect the fact that the hole was new. I've used gun cleaning solutions in the past for one of my many experiments in toning or aging a coin. It is the best thing so far for making things look old.
So back to the coins with holes in them. Just drill a hold yourself and use gun bluing solution to darken the hole to make it look like it's been there forever. The main thing is to use a small cotton swab so you don't get the stuff on the rest of the coin.

 

silver tones with sulphur as well..not sure if thats in that solution...

I have a coin that while not holed, was altered to use as jewelry:



I love it...this coin was considered a work of art by someone who wanted to wear it long ago...as is with most of these holed coins.