Best way to 'unplug' a hole?
dthigpen
Posts: 3,932 ✭✭
I have a dilemna, I hate repaired coins.
I collect holed coins and have a number of coins which I purchased at a very low price (Including a 19th Centure Gold Eagle and many Capped Bust and Seated Liberty Halves) that I want to add to my 'coinchain' that were once holed but since someone has decided to fill them back up. Does anyone have experience unplugging a formerly holed coin, if so what is the best method you have found the leaves a clean hole as close to the original as possible?
Thanks,
I collect holed coins and have a number of coins which I purchased at a very low price (Including a 19th Centure Gold Eagle and many Capped Bust and Seated Liberty Halves) that I want to add to my 'coinchain' that were once holed but since someone has decided to fill them back up. Does anyone have experience unplugging a formerly holed coin, if so what is the best method you have found the leaves a clean hole as close to the original as possible?
Thanks,
0
Comments
Hand drills just don't drill as nice a round hole as a drill press does.
stating that we had removed plugs from coins.
Ken
Self Indulgence | Holey Coins | Flickr Photostream
K S
Self Indulgence | Holey Coins | Flickr Photostream
Self Indulgence | Holey Coins | Flickr Photostream
My Odds&Ends eBay Stuff to fuel my coin habit (No Coins)
My experience with unplugging them is limited, but I've done it a few times. Drilling with a bit slightly smaller than the plug is the best way to go, I think. I tried the "tapping out" method to no avail.
Many of my latest round of Bust half purchases will have to be "unplugged". In the past I was reluctant to do this, but when I needed a particular date for my large cent date set, I found it necessary to "unplug" one or two, or to "finish" partial holes somebody once started. And I "unplugged" a nice 1856-S quarter eagle that I wanted to put on my hat. Now that I'm doing a Bust half set, I'll be buying plugged coins as well as holed ones.
No true collector of holey coins would drill his own holes- that would be "cheating". But if it's already holed and plugged, or partially holed, I don't think it's a numismatic crime. I would rather have a holed coin than a crudely plugged one.
Would love to see some pics of your collection sometime.
<< <i>A nice new fresh drill bit and a drill press works the best for me.
Hand drills just don't drill as nice a round hole as a drill press does. >>
I wish I had a drill press, but I don't. I'll bet it does work a lot better. I'm thinking of getting another Dremel, since the big handheld drill I have been using to drill out plugged coins is a bit unwieldy. I'm thinking that while a Dremel might not be very powerful, its smaller size would make it easier to hang onto and use accurately?
<< <i>
Would love to see some pics of your collection sometime.
>>
Thanks for your input, I'll just continue to unplug them with my trusty dremel.
After I get this batch of coins unplugged I was planning on making a wall display for them all to hang on. I'll definately take some pictures at that point and post them
Self Indulgence | Holey Coins | Flickr Photostream
<< <i>Best way to 'unplug' a hole? >>
<< <i>Anyone have a linky on the history of holed coins? It's something I've never looked into. CHEERS! >>
I don't think there is any definitive link on the history behind holed coins, as people have been drilling or punching holes into coins for as long as there have been coins, and for a variety of reasons. I think the practice tapered off a little in modern times, when coins no longer contained any precious metal. But if you were a poor working Joe back in the 1800's, that teeny little gold dollar in your pocket would cause a noticeable dent in your pocketbook if you lost it, which was very easy to do. So maybe you'd hole it to carry it on a string, or sew it into your clothing, or whatever.
I've heard that slaves often wore small silver coins as amulets against spells and evil spirits and such. Certainly the wearing of coins as jewelry continues today in many parts of Africa and Asia.
Soldiers might hole coins to sew them inside their uniforms, making them less likely to be lost and so they wouldn't "clink" on the march.
Many coins that were made into love tokens were also holed, for practical purposes.
Some coins were made into buttons, and occasionally large cents were holed in the center to be used as washers, or nailed to the roofs of buildings to bring luck. (I'd love to hear more about this tradition- it sounds really interesting).
The Indians preferred holed coins, and often strung them as wampum, I'm told. Because of the fur trade, a huge number of early Canadian tokens are found holed.
The variables are endless.
The fact of the matter that pertains to us today is that holed coins are imminently collectible. The holes themselves often have an aura of history about them. I have a 1737 halfpenny and a few early large cents with rectangular holes- these were almost certainly created with old-fashioned "square" headed nails. Holed coins are just as historical and often almost as beautiful as their undamaged counterparts, but a lot cheaper. True, they are "problem" coins, but unlike some problem pieces such as scratched or whizzed coins, they retain much more of their eye appeal. Often they were quite high grade when holed.
Holed coin collectors don't have to be uptight about cleaning or artificial toning or whether a coin will "make the grade" or not. It's old-fashioned collecting, for an old-fashioned motive: purely for the fun of it.
And besides, how many other coin collectors can wear their collections on a vest or hat or keychain, or pin 'em to a bulletin board?
<< <i>After I get this batch of coins unplugged I was planning on making a wall display for them all to hang on. I'll definately take some pictures at that point and post them >>
I'll do the same when I get sufficiently far along with the Bust half set. I haven't gotten the plaque I plan to use, yet.