this should be against the law!(http://page.auctions.shopping.yahoo.com/auction/87220105?aucview=0x30)
How come? Personally, I think it's great! Some folks collect pristine coins, others circulated examples. Coins have been used as decorations and jewelry for centuries; holed hanging from strings and chains, soldered together to form elaborate necklaces and bracelets, embedded into bowls and glasses, laminated into countertops, hammered into rings and yes, even those with cutout designs. There is a facet of the hobby that covers all of these areas called Exonumia, and it's quite a lot of fun.
I meant to a 1849 large cent.They are really quite neat!It must take a long time for all that detail cutting.
It's all in your perception. Most facets of the hobby involve eye appeal and ways to appreciate it. Some of us find the appeal in a raw coin with all of its wear and history apparent. Others find it in polishing it and wearing it. Still others find the appeal graded in a slab. It's just another way to enjoy coins. How many other hobbies have this many facets?
Look at it this way - there is now one less 1849 large cent in the supply. If demand stays the same, the value of all the others just went up.
Think that's bad ? You should see my reaction when I find a gold coin from the 15th century that you don't even see for sale once in a 3 yr period - and then the one you finally do find - has a hole in it for a necklace
Catch 22. It has the hole so someone could use it as an adornment. That's probably the only reason that specimen is still around. So, no hole, no coin. Just switch to modern commems and you will no longer feel the angst.
The barber shop of the old Palmer Hotel in Chicago had silver dollars set into the floor. I also like coins that have been holed. One interesting aspect of this is when the hole is at right angles to the obverse and reverse. Mostly, people will hole them so that the Head is up. Sometimes, the Tail is up. However, when neither is up, you have to ask why. I think it is because whoever did it did not perceive the images as we would. To them, the lines were abstractions that did not represent anything. Just a thought. Michael
As I see it, there are no bright shiny spots in this picture. That means the whole coin was likely cleaned and then retoned. It was very possibly a disaster to begin with. Maybe there was corrosion or damage to the reverse, or maybe to the fields on the obverse. Hopefully a cull coin was used. There are a lot of culls out there which would be great coins aside from the damage. Maybe this one even had a big hole in it, which was cut out. Hopefully in it’s previous state it was not collectible, in which case the cutting was an improvement and gives it some appeal for a different use.
I sold a few hundred silver dollars once to a company that was opening a bar called "The Silver Dollar Saloon" somewhere in Tennessee. They were going to place the coins randomly on the recessed bartop, then pour clearcoat over them so that the bartop would be smooth with the coins visible underneath. Probably looks nice but not the best thing for the coins, I'm sure. Here in Orlando there was a kiosk at Sea World that sold cut-out coins for jewelry. They were very expensive though...the kiosk is not there anymore Nick
Haha Jody that's great. A dealer I know got one of these as a wedding gift. It's got a large size 1899 $5 silver certificate "papa" note in the center, surrounded by coins. It's pretty awesome. I've tried to buy it several times but he always just sighs and says..."it was a wedding gift". Nick
