1854 Quarter/with hole

Based on those photos, your 7th grade shop teacher would have been proud!!

 

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I have found many holed old coins while metal detecting. Have heard that way back some would hole their coins and put them on a string for safe keeping? Just what I have heard over the years. Did they have pockets in their pants back in the day? That would maybe help explain why the holes are found just about anywhere on the coin. I hate it when I find a holed coin and its right thru the last numbers of the date!!
I have even found one that has holes exactly in the shape that a button on a coat would be. 4 square little holes. All I know is they used to put holes in coins back in the day, how or for what reasons are all up for speculation. Fun stuff. Cool coin by the way. Jim

 

I can assure you, that a "holed coin", and a "love token", are two entirely different things.

A "holed coin" is simply a coin that someone has put a hole through.

A "love token" is a coin that has been engraved with initials, names, messages, etc.

 

everyone has forgot the shape of that hole.

it exactly corresponds with the shape of a oval flat head nail.i suspect this took a few wacks to get through and on one such wack the mis-hit can be seen clearly above it.

this is a ore common variety of nail older nails were often square being fluted to a point.Hand made nails were made aslo round.

oval as that hole is shows that the damage was done to that coin in the last 20 years as thats when oval nails were popularised and are now more common than round ones and square is not made anymore.i estimate the nail to be a size 4 in fact im positive it exactly matches the size of the hole.


hope this helps a bit

 

Just because this is the first time I have bothered to read this post, I will throw my pennies worth in, those nails that they used back in the day for horseshoes were not round either, most were a somewhat square shape, while others were in fact more or less "oval" shaped, as well as most of them, even the ones with the very small tip, as you go up to the head of the nail, it gets thicker, I don't see how those nails could bend one way or another. ( I believe they were used for horseshoeing, perhaps just an older type nail )

 

Well that is interesting...thanks Jody.

I would like to see examples of both types if anyone has them. Fascinating how this thread has expanded to include tools, cut nails(pre 1900) and even literature...sure beats the majority of history classes I sat through

WK

 

Getting back to the original subject, here's the question I asked a real expert on holed coins, and his reply:

<< What percentage of your vast collection of holed coins have the holes substantially away from top dead center >>

.

(He's known on another forum as the "holey of holeys" due to his special interest. )

 

Sure thing. just start clicking on the links.

Holed coins:

LINK

LINK

Love Tokens:

Obverse (link)

Reverse (link)

LINK

LINK

 

Wow!! Thanks for the 'lesson' Jody !

WN

 

No charge.

 

Back in the 1800’s it was quite a daunting trip to sail from England to where I live (New Zealand).
A lot of English silver coins from that period that I see in local stores seem to have holes. I was once told that this was because people sailing here would punch a hole in the money and tie it around their neck. That way, if they were shipwrecked, they wouldn’t loose their silver coins which would be worth something no matter where they ended up.

Just a story I heard… not sure how true it is.

 

This is very intriguing. Chinese cash coins have the hole in the center. As a pendent, a coin should have a hole near the edge, but if it were to go on a string as a necklace-wallet, the center was as good a place as ever, and perhaps the best place, depending on how many coins would be carried on the string.

 

Anyone know what might have made this
hole in a 200 quarter. Thanks.

 

And the back

 

Thanks. It looks like that to me also. Don't know why someone
would do something like that. There is a small curl of metal on
the back and they damaged the t in state as well.

 

Yup.

 

Deleted posting did not comply with the rules.

 

Just an observation for what it's worth. If you compare the "multiple holes" with the size of the "o" in God, you can see they are pretty much the same dia. I'm no engineer, but it seems to me that a nail that small would be pretty hard to drive through a coin. Looks to me like it's been smacked with a phillips head screwdriver.