Holed coins are an abomination to our hobby!

Unfortunately people have been holing coins for a long time. I've seen some good dates ruined by it and jewelry.

Some time ago we bought a rather large Bolivian collection. Many coins from the late 1700s and early 1800s. About 1/2 were holed but we sold them.

Last week we bought a collection that contained a nice VF+ 1866 Shield nickel with a hole. I put it in a special place as I have a buyer for those.

Yeserday "Old" Wally was in. He paid $5 to add it to his type set.

If nothing else these are cheap hole fillers. Yes, I did say that.

 

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I don't see why anyone would. And like someone mentioned before, all it is is a hole in the coin that knocks down the price for people with a lower budget. I own a few myself and don't regret buying them and people shouldn't get frustrated at seeing holed coins because they were done for a reason.

 

I have a holed 1898 Barber Quarter that I found with my metal detector I found it in an area where there use to be town and church picnic's down by the river. I would love to know how it got lost but I may never know I tend to believe that someone had it tied around their neck or where ever and the string broke. I like to hold it and wonder about it's story. Ice

 

I wouldn't mine wearing a necklace made from a holed coin. Whether it be in a pendant or just looped right through a string or chain, I'd wear it (if it was a series I liked and wasn't too big)
I might buy a French Sower design coin that is holed and use it for so, small coin, beautiful design, good fit for a necklace.

I also think those holed 7070's can be cool, and you can get a lot of coins at discount pricing because nobody wants one with a hole in it.

 

Don't knock em, most were holed for a reason. For instance, for many years women had no property rights. If their husbands were to die without a will, his property will be divided among his male relatives leaving her with nothing, Or if he were to "kick her out" she would leave with nothing. Except for one thing, Her jewelry was one thing that was hers. So by piercing a coin and adding it to her jewelry it was a form of security to her. This is, by the way, where the custom of buying your woman expensive jewelry got started.
So don't see it as some creep maliciously defacing a coin to cause grief to future collectors, look at it as just a part of that coins history.

 

I agree that the colorized coins and the like are examples of selling damaged coins. I like to watch the coin promo shows for entertaiment value. But on the subject of holed coins, I saw a 1893 S morgan with a small hole, the seller still wanted EF 40 pricing so I passed but if the price were right I would have bought it.

Steve

 

Yeah they were hold for reason , be it love tokens or touch pieces. Here is a little info about it :
A touch piece is a coin or medal attached to attracted superstitious beliefs, such as those with 'holes' in them or those with particular designs. Such pieces were believed to cure disease, bring good luck, influence people's behaviour, carry out a specific practical action, et cetera.
What most touch pieces have in common is that they have to be touched or in close physical contact for the power concerned to be obtained and/or transferred. Once this is achieved the power is permanently present in the coin which effectively becomes an amulet.


I have holed pieces but they are still not photographed , but I do have these 2 tokens that I bought the other day. They also had a nice Morgan love token broach which is quite rare but my dude wanted 80 for it so I kindly told him to shove it .

Example of a love token carved on the reverse of an 1891 seated US dime. The reverse bears the initials H.D.B and has a small butterfly resting on a lilac like flower.



Example of an unknown token believed to be Masonic related. Carved on the reverse of an Edwardian two shilling piece is the number 2 and one half under an arch with an exaggerated key stone.

 

Hello all:

I take pity on holed coins, and buy them as stocking stuffers for Xmas, B-Day cards, etc.

I see holed coins as someone's effort in the past to wear this coin as jewellery. When I give these coins to someone else, I think they might put it on a key chain, or wear it like a necklace.

The responses I have received so far have been positive, when I give these kinds of coins out as token gifts. It is a piece of Artwork that can be once again worn in some way. It also has a history, which I think is appealing to a number of people.

True their monetary value may be significantly diminished, but the artistic and sentimental value can be enormous.

 

Wow! Had absolutely no idea that so many positive comments would be made about holed coins. I had always considered them to be destroyed beauties. Looked at them in the same manner as an Extremely Fine early Ford having a Chevy 350 dropped in it. Junk!

The mention of Love Tokens reminded me of Hobo Nickles. Both are very collectible, costing a fair sum. Some may consider them to be defaced coins, however, they are another form of popular American art. The Hobo Nickles are reworked Indian heads, tooled around campfires and traded for a sandwich or two and a glass of cold lemonade, if they got lucky. That sad era, the need [desperation] [hunger] and the practice [artistic skill?] are long departed, along with steam engines and buggy whips. I have only one, but keep searching for others. They are few and far between.

Anyway, this thread has me reevaluating my pierced [no longer nasty holed] coins with renewed interest. While I no longer despise them, they will remain safely in a deal-with-it later box for now.

Enjoyed reading this thread. This is why I value this site so highly ..... always more to learn and differing thoughts to appreciate. Good on all who contributed here.

 

Then obviously you've never seen woodcuts or other pictures of pre-20th Century Asian commerce.

The Chinese/Japanese/Korean/Annamese cash coins were cast with holes for that express purpose, especially in the days before paper currency made it unnecessary to use large quantities of coin for major purchases; and even today there are many holed coins being minted (Japanese ¥5 and ¥50 are just two examples.)

As several folks have pointed out, coins holed after minting are also really quite collectible in their own right.

 

That is kinda neat. I was going to mention seeing holed 7070's gaining in popularity. It is also a more "cost efficient" way of building that set.

 

I have had a 1868 Shilling for decades that is holed and damaged, yet has become one of my favorite coins. The hole was well done with each edge reamed and removed of any sharp edges. I think it was meant to accomodate a ribbon. This given to a young girl as a piece of jewelry. Then at some point on one side the initials W J W M R W were scratched crudely with what likely was a penknife. The lines are thin and several scratches were made to form each letter. Obviously, whoever made the scratches was either unskilled with tools in an era when more things were done by hand, in a hurry or both. Since the initials are the same for the last name, I have wondered did the young woman give it to her groom or a sibling ? Why the rush ? A call to arms maybe ? This beat up damaged piece of silver has a history. It meant something to someone more than sitting hidden from view to retain it's perfection and to protect it from theft or loss. An Uncirculated Morgan is a beautiful trophy, but it never bought a cowboy a rope, a housewife groceries or slid across the top of a bar. Specimens of nearly every rare US coin can be bought on eBay for little money and they look pretty good. And you can display them without a lot of fear of great loss. IMHO

 

i got a bunch of world coins with holes, they were once on a bracelet. nothing really valuable and i am not a big world coin collector so i am going to keep them.

i also have an 1876 seated liberty dime, that has a hole in it. its a love token and has initials carved into the back. it was given to me and was sorta upset at first because its the oldest coin i have. at the time i didn't know about love tokens. now that i do, i feel i like the coin even more. it wasn't just a coin, it was specially engraved and given to someone that was special to the original owner. i dunno, maybe its me but i love the history behind it and don't mind the hole.

o yea, i have a 1976 lincoln cent that has a hole in the middle of it, i am pretty sure someone shot it!

 

I have one comment, the discovery specimen of the 1806 O-129 half is holed (and maybe a FR-2). After it was identified it sold for over $6,000. Today it is one of just three known specimens.