1898 "Blow Hole" Barber Dime Error

When I first saw your coin, I didn't read your description. There was a western movie from the 40's or early 50's with Glenn Ford in it. He was a former gunfighter, but had gotten married and settled down. However, the town folks kept teasing him because he didn't wear a gun. After a while, he got fed up with them, and he got a few silver dollars and had a man throw them in the air. When they picked up the coins, they all had a bullet hole in the middle.
That said, I thought that the coin that was shown, was one of those coins.
(Glenn Ford was one of my favorite acters. He was also Superman's (Christopher Reeve) father in "Superman the Movie.)

 

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Sounds like the movie The Fastest Gun Alive in which he shot holes in 2 Silver Dollars at the same time in which they were both tossed into the air together.

 

You gotit! I have about 3-4 favorite movies. One is "The Fastest Gun Alive" another is "The Gunfighter" with Gregory Peck, and two John Wayne flicks, the one with Montgomery Clift (can't remember the title) and the other is "Stage Coach". I am so thankful that I am retired. I have over 300 movies and I built a theater with a 4K UHD projector, 11.2. But... I still love my coins.

 

I would not say for sure without seeing it in hand, but it looks like post-mint damage to me.

 

Never heard of that. Monster cherry pick OP.
You can learn something new every day here.

 

Sweet pick up there Matthew and a gawjeus example of a blow hole!

 

I'm just curious why you would call the damage "post mint". I'm sure there are other ways to determine exactly what cause the damage. Is there a way to determine exactly what did cause that hole. I wouldn't care how the hole got there, but I really like it. Is there a way that the hole could definitely be post mint. Maybe a forensics scientist could get one and put it under a microscope or some other type of equipment that they use in NCIS or CSI or some other crime show. I'm sure that it wasn't made out of thin air. Any ideas?

 

A good lesson for a lot of us, thank you.

 

I am skeptical that this is a genuine ragged perforation ("blowhole"). On the reverse, the edges of the hole are too clean and the corners too sharp. Signs of corresponding damage on the obverse may have been muted by wear.

 

I appreciate your opinion, I am sending it to @JCro57 to see if it’s genuine and be photographed. I will update the thread when it arrives and he lets me know!

 

Look at areas outside but near the hole that appear to have been flattened, such as approximately where the "E" of "ONE" would be. To me that suggests impact damage coming through the struck coin from the other side, or perhaps the flattening of the damaged coin assuming it was bent during the damage.
TD

 

Danke

 

OK, so I received the coin and was able to examine it in-hand. Below are my photos...

After examining it close-up, and as you can see in the close-ups, I found that many of the missing areas are incredibly angular and linear to the point where they just line up too perfectly - particularly on the reverse - as though those marks were left by some sort of tool. It is actually similar to the linear striations you would see on bones which came into contact with cutting tools with serrated edges like a knife or saw.

At this point whether or not this coin had some genuine error initially (e.g. a smaller planchet defect to start with) in the center of the coin is immaterial. In my opinion, it has been altered and is therefore a damaged coin. I would suggest it thus has no numismatic value as an error coin and is worth 90% silver melt value.

I wish I had better news.

 

That's a disappointment but it's history and the storys you can think of for the hole.

 

Thank you for your expertise and photos. Its a little disappointing but I understand. Would it be possible that the angles on the missing areas are due to circulation wear, as the rest of the coin seems rather circulated?

Regardless, I appreciate your feedback.

 

Agreed.