Lately i have been getting interested in a lot of Islamic silver coins. Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey...... I see tons of silver Turkish coins that have holes punched in them. Why are so many more of these holed than any other types? And being holed makes them only worth melt value right?
What he said ^ likely due to inflation or changing of rulers and coins the become almost worthless and they turn them into jewelry.
Same here,just got a 1737 8 Reale piece and the outside of the rim was filed to fit a belt buckle was probably in AU shape before then. Lots of us gold dollars were used in jewelry here "back in the day"too.
Oh, to answer your question, yes, most coins that are holed generally go for melt unless mintage and other factors affect the value.
They are often holed because those coins get used to make belly dancer and other traditional ornamental garments in those regions. There are also tons of crude copies of these coins that are made for this purpose and then end up flooding into the numismatic market and confusing novice collectors. Do a Google images search for "kuchi coin" or "belly dancer coins"
I understand that kuchi means dog in Arabic. Any connection to the meaning of the word and use of it?
The Kuchis are a nomadic people living in Afghanistan. The Kuchi dog, also known as the Afghan shepherd, is named after them.
