go back to Rob's image of this coin (obv and rev) on page 1 of this thread.......I believe this is a scan as opposed to an actual photo so the color is going to be slightly washed out.......check out the light bit of streaky toning on the reverse image due to improper alloy mixing.......i have NEVER seen this on a counterfeit coin and doubt you could replicate this
I've been told this hole looks awfully modern, but it is not necessarily so, as I see it. They've had drill presses for a long time. And besides, who can you imagine doing something like this to such a coin nowadays? >>
Apparently the drill was invented in Egypt more than 2,500 years before coins were invented.
Seeing the pictures in the original post I was prepared to say that this is a "new" hole (New as in relative to the age of the coin) but after seeing the picture now, next to the gold coin, I am absolutely, 100 % sure that this hole is, indeed, contemporary to when this coin was a common occurance-new, perhaps.
When you drill into metal, the area that is drilled has different characteristics, and the main, most notable and easiest to ID is the color difference. Metals-ALL metals, I beleieve, though I have not been able to "play" with any gold, change colors when they are drilled, cut, gouged, etc. With some metals you can literally watch it change before your eyes-there have never been coins made of zamac though. The coloration of the hole, and the way it matches the mottled look of the rest of the coin, makes me absouletely sure this hole had been drilled some time early in the life of the coin.
As for why the hole was drilled in that manner, I would venture an educated guess it's because of the thickness of the coin. It would have taken a lot less work to drill through from both sides then go all the way through from one, plus, it would have left an unsightly burr on the side that was not touching the point of the drill bit. it would have been fixable easily enough-but some of the details would have been lost.
As for me, I'm happy with my hole-less but rim-dinged (dung? Nah, that can't be right! ) example that I paid $20 last September! This photo is my largest expenditure for a single coin, both positions one and two. The 3 cent piece cost me $25, and the FE $20. The other three were $5 each. And while the 3 center is not holey (the shop did have a holed one but I don't dig holes, sorry!) it is, however, bent! I'm sure there must be somebody somewhere that has a thing for bent coins like Rob and apparently Dr.Thigpen do for holeys!
If the hole is "fresh" then it's a pretty safe bet that it was made simply to hide something. My guess is that it would have been a ragged hole. It wasn't unusual for people in those days to use coins for machine parts or other such things. This might have been a pendulum weight or some simple mecanism.
They drill for black gold, They drill for well water. They did for teeth. Now they drill holes in coins. They only thing left is to drill a septic tank or dig 6 feet for your resting place.
Why do people drill? I'll tell ya y because they do and that's all I have to say about that.
Nice coin my lord. Very nice.
I'll trade ya 2 Aces and a pair of threes for that coin.
Comments
I can understand drilling a hole. What I fail to understand is why bother countersinking said hole .
I believe like stated it has been done relatively recently and it was done by drilling both ends, and with a larger than the whole drill bit.
They simply stopped halfway flipped the coin and drilled again. If they had continued the hole would of been the same size as the "countersunk" area.
go back to Rob's image of this coin (obv and rev) on page 1 of this thread.......I believe this is a scan as opposed to an actual photo so the color is going to be slightly washed out.......check out the light bit of streaky toning on the reverse image due to improper alloy mixing.......i have NEVER seen this on a counterfeit coin and doubt you could replicate this
www.brunkauctions.com
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I've been told this hole looks awfully modern, but it is not necessarily so, as I see it. They've had drill presses for a long time. And besides, who can you imagine doing something like this to such a coin nowadays? >>
Apparently the drill was invented in Egypt more than 2,500 years before coins were invented.
This is even before the invention of writing.
Go figure...
When you drill into metal, the area that is drilled has different characteristics, and the main, most notable and easiest to ID is the color difference. Metals-ALL metals, I beleieve, though I have not been able to "play" with any gold, change colors when they are drilled, cut, gouged, etc. With some metals you can literally watch it change before your eyes-there have never been coins made of zamac though. The coloration of the hole, and the way it matches the mottled look of the rest of the coin, makes me absouletely sure this hole had been drilled some time early in the life of the coin.
As for why the hole was drilled in that manner, I would venture an educated guess it's because of the thickness of the coin. It would have taken a lot less work to drill through from both sides then go all the way through from one, plus, it would have left an unsightly burr on the side that was not touching the point of the drill bit. it would have been fixable easily enough-but some of the details would have been lost.
As for me, I'm happy with my hole-less but rim-dinged (dung? Nah, that can't be right!
to hide something. My guess is that it would have been a ragged hole.
It wasn't unusual for people in those days to use coins for machine parts
or other such things. This might have been a pendulum weight or some
simple mecanism.
Perhaps then, someone was planning on setting it with a stone?
That would also explain why the coin is in MS condition.
Just thinking outside the box
The thread title says it all!
Why do people drill? I'll tell ya y because they do and that's all I have to say about that.
Nice coin my lord. Very nice.
I'll trade ya 2 Aces and a pair of threes for that coin.