Love holed coins

That Otacilia Severa is wonderful holed or not! I can imagine from the position of the hole someone wished to display the lovely hippo.
The Quintillus right through the face makes me think someone was giving him a curse in ancient times.

I think the intentioned holes add something special to a coin even if they do lower the value a bit!

 

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While I find the trend for collectors of modern coins that feel the urge to drop in the ancients section and tell us how to collect quite unnecessary, I do find this coin quite interesting. What I find deplorable is the photo of only one side shows nothing to suggest that the coin was struck by a bullet. Is that just a bad photo or did you not want to show the damaged side? Perhaps I misunderstood how the coin saved a life. Has the coin been shown over on the US section where I could see the rest of the story? Link?

 

I did post a story of this coin some time back. The coin was displayed in the facility where the Hunley was being excavated when I viewed it. I only displayed the one side as my post was meant more to make an point rather than display the coin.

Briefly, George Dixon was captain of the confederate submarine, HL Hunley. When he went to war his beloved gave him the coin and he carried it throughout the war for good luck. In the battle of Shiloh he was hit in the hip by a Union bullet. His hip was shattered, but the coin bore the impact of the bullet. He survived and recovered to captain the Hunley as his last act of service. The coin was legendary to civil war historians but nobody knew if it was legend or real until Captain Dixon’s remains were recovered during the subs excavation several years back.

 

Have a few with holes.

Don't know if this one was drilled or punched; anyway the beautiful front part of Honos is completely damaged , every time I look at it, it hurts :-(( my dad paid just £ 25 back in the 80's.

Denarius, 18 x 19 mm, 3.41 g;
Rome, 19 - 18 BC, Marcus Durmius, moneyer
Ref.: RIC 315, RSC 428;

Obv.: M•DVRMI[VS]•III•VIR•HONORI head of Honos right
Rev.: CAESAR AVG(VSTVS)•SIGN•RECE, bare-headed Parthian kneeling to r., extending in r. hand a signum, with a vexillum marked X, and holding out l. hand below l. knee

​

 

Thorius Balbus fouree.
I wonder what story this coin could tell?

 

From the looks of that cool coin... “BULLSEYE!!!”

 

i do not love them but here we go
IONIA, Ephesus Hadrian, Artemis
Reference.
RPC III, 2072 BMC Ionia 230 (pag. 77)

Obv. ΑΔΡΙΑΝΟC KAIKAP
Laureate head right.

Rev. ЄΦЄ / CΙΩΝ
Artemis holding torch, in biga of galloping stags.

3.89 gr
18 mm
6h

 

Info re. King Charles I (1625 - 1649) in case anyone doesn't already know. He got beheaded in the (British) Civil War, and that year was 1649. Cromwell wasn't too worried.

 

This is probably my favorite...with at least two overstrikes.

 

£25 for a damaged item...A waste of money in my eyes

 

Maybe if it was a modern coin where many millions were minted and many millions still exist. Ancient coins survive in much smaller numbers and are pieces of history. They have (historical and monetary) value despite worts such as holes, bankers punches or countermarks. I’d welcome that coin into my collection for that amount.

 

nothing damaged is welcomed in my collection...Thats where i am a perfectionist and dont put up with space fillers like you do

 

To each their own. We obviously value the coins in our collections for different reasons. I’d most times value a coin that is damaged but interesting higher than one perfect but common and boring.

I collect for the connections to history and the opportunity to learn, more than condition or resale value (can also be translated as 'my coin budget is limited due to children but I still like coins'). You can have both “interesting” and “great condition” but sometimes those coins are out of reach or unavailable with ancients.

 

@Orange Julius

Bravo, nicely said! Just imagine the places this coin must have been carried to maybe as a pendant.... as a memento for a soldier who had fought the Parthians? Or the loved one of a dead soldier?

Have also a Cistophorus with a hole that my dad bought in the late sixties for £ 50. He collected coins that he liked, particularly of Augustus. And I collect them to continue his legacy, not for their possible resale value. When I buy a coin I always think, would he have liked it?

Just to share this information, when I was trying to attribute this Cistophorus I came across one, also RIC 476 and also with a hole. It was sold for $480, which means that even with a hole there are collectors that like to have it, while others certainly think it is a waste of money - my mom also said that, "what a waste of money" :

25 mm, 11.35 g;
Ionia, Ephesus, 28 BC
RIC 476
Obv.: IMP•CAESAR•DIVI•F•COS•VI•LIBERTATIS•P•R• VINDEX• laureate head r.
Rev.: PAX in left field; Pax, draped, standing l. on parazonium, holding caduceus in r. hand; in right field, a snake emerging from cista mystica. All within laurel wreath.

​

Who might have used it, when and why? Just imagine...

 

I had two of these...I kept the one with the holes...



BC L. Aemilius Lepidus Paullus

PAVLLVS LEPIDVS CONCORDIA
Veiled and diad. head of Concordia right

Rev. Togate figure of L. Aemilius Paullus standing left touching trophy to left of which stand King Perseus of Macedon and his two sons as captives
TER above, PAVLLVS in ex.

Rome 62 BC

Sear 366

3.80g

Holed in antiquity. This moneyer was the elder brother of the triumvir M. Aemillius Lepidus

 

How can one possibly know that a coin was holed in antiquity?

 

You waited three weeks to come back and p in the punch bowl again? A waste of our time in my eyes.

 

Methinks we have another troll...

 

He seems to be "legit," in the sense he's been around for awhile and posted on various topics. Certainly he's woefully misinformed and quite unpleasant, but imo he hasn't earned his coveted troll badge yet.

Phil Davis

 

I agree... I did check that he has been here awhile, albeit in other threads. However, as he graces his presence in the Ancients area, he seems to behave as a troll. Unfortunate.