Holes
Brutalfly
Posts: 74 ✭✭✭
I was wondering why some coins have holes in them?
I see pictures of very old ones with coins so I thought I would ask.
It is always a good conversation with the kids when I talk to them about these things.
1
Comments
Drilling a hole allows the coin to be displayed on a necklace by putting a chain through the hole or on a charm bracelet.
I found a Russia 5 Kopek piece dated 1803 with my metal detector that has a tiny hole near the top. The chain used must have broken because of the massive weight of the copper piece.
Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.
It's hard to relate to life many years ago. But it's not hard to imagine that some folks wanted to wear coins as jewelry, or affix them to doors of new homes or buildings or vessels for wishes of luck or good fortune.
It's a little sad that we don't treasure them today the same way.
Lance.
from
https://ngccoin.com/coin-explorer/seated-liberty-half-dimes-1837-1873-pscid-27
I was once told that copper cents were used as washers for electrical connections but I have never seen it done.
I've seen it, they were put behind a fuse, thus eliminating the need to change a blown fuse. Very unsafe.
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At a time in our nation's history when 1Ȼ or 5Ȼ had considerable buying power, and could be used to actually purchase something of value, people were more concerned about losing them. You didn't see people discarding the 'lowly' 1Ȼ coins on the ground as we do today. But many garments were simple, homemade items with no pockets. Thus, in order to secure their coins, people often drilled holes in them and strung them on a string, worn around the neck.
In my home state of Maine, where boat building has been a major industry throughout the entire history of the State, it has been told that the old large cents, when worn, would be holed in the center and used as washers under the heads of nails when securing planking to the hulls of wooden ships, to prevent the heads of the nails from pulling through as the wood swelled. This urban legend gained much credibility when a wooden cask of old worn large cents was discovered at an old boat builder's site several years ago, all with holes in the centers.
These, in addition to the jewelry and other uses discussed above, account for many of the holed coins seen today.
Wow! That is some awesome history. I never would have thought about any of that stuff. Thank you guys for sharing.
It will make a great lesson/story to teach the kids when we talk about it.
Thanks again!
Used behind screw in fuses in a circuit box, but I don't believe that was recommended.
They were used as washers by roofers and carpenters doing copper flashing work.
All of the above, plus pie dough trimmers (serrated edge), and nailed over the front door (to welcome money in the house). Use in fuse boxes was very common, though that did not require a hole. Also, cents were often placed on the top of car batteries to reduce terminal corrosion. Cheers, RickO
Just wait until your kids discover that several foreign countries' coins were MINTED with holes from the outset! THAT might be a cool avenue for them to explore! Check, for example, issues from the 1930's thru 1950's from Fiji . Also Japan, Denmark, France, China, and others!
Check out this link, for starters:
https://www.google.com/search?q=coins+with+holes+in+them&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS787US787&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=FayXyC0KLV-DMM%3A%2CHIyKSM8_-kOiuM%2C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kQ54GnksMRtaLlW1FROap6CCGs8-w&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjqqNuElYDhAhVDh-AKHaGQAMwQ9QEwAHoECAIQBA#imgrc=FayXyC0KLV-DMM:
I bought a pair of $1 gold coins, decent shape, for melt, both holed, probably on a necklace, and made them into earrings for my wife.
I have personally used the old 1 peso mexico coin as a backer when filling rust holes in cars. I have seen a "lattice" of 1 pesos brazed together, to made a repair for a rusted out floor of a car. Since they have no value, they are "cheap".
The holes may be "terrible" but the hole may have also saved that coin from being melted a long time ago. It was great aunt Bessie's necklace, given to her for her 25th birthday in 1846, and she wore it until 1907, when it went to her grand niece, who kept in in a safety deposit box until 1957, and by then, that 1821 coin was "too old" to melt.
I heard the large cents with two holes for a string were used as toys. Urban myth?
I know they were sometimes used as replacement buttons. My friend unearthed a trime that was used for that purpose.
Square holes in early coins can indicate the coin was nailed to the rafters of a house or barn for good luck.
I thought this was about holes in a collection.
In my case, the number is 5
My Saint Set
I just got this bad boy back from our hosts .... MS64 "Blowhole"
Or to make a coin ring.
Living near the Gettysburg Battlefield we were told as kids that people would sew money under their jacket flaps in case that if they did not make it back home a friend would be able to send a letter home to love ones or have a proper burial for them. So they say!
My Dad had this Peace holed for his key chain over 50 years ago and since he passed 25 years ago, I've been using it. Use to be an AU, down to F.
@Insider2
I believe you are correct, as a small child on a dairy farm we made toys like this.
Any circular [i think squares and other shapes also worked] object with 2 holes would work.
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