~*~*~ LORD MARCOVAN'S HOLEY LARGE CENT DATE SET ~*~*~

Well, finally I had pictures of my holey large cent date set done. (Thanks, Rob41281!)
These were sewn onto the back side of my famous Holey Coin Vest. I worked on this set from about 2001 to 2007 or so. As you can see, I just about completed it, with the exception of the tough 1793, 1795, 1799, and 1804 coins. Sure, some of these are slick or scary, but just think of how long a set like this would have taken to complete without eBay or Internet keyword searches. (The better part of a lifetime, I'll wager!)
I had fun with this set but I'm shifting gears and downsizing my sizeable holey collection. (Trust me, I still have plenty of holeys to wear on the vest!) I'll probably be breaking this set up and focusing more on my 19th century holey type set, instead. I already have a good bit of that done, but still no pictures yet.
Early copper experts, I'd greatly appreciate your input, particularly since these are unpicked for varieties. (I'd hate for something like this to happen again!)
Here they are. More mutilated copper than most sane people would care to see!
Photobucket slideshow (give it a moment to load, initially)
What? No 1792 Birch cent? Ha. Fuhgeddaboutit.
(Likewise for the 1793 Strawberry Leaf. Or any of the 1793 types or varieties, for that matter. Too rich for my blood.)
- 1794 (I might keep this one. There is an avatar of this coin in the database.)
(I never got a 1795. They're pretty tough, even holed.)
- 1796 (Smooth reverse, but surprisingly clear date.)
- 1797 (Pretty slick, but datable.)
- 1798 (The 8 over 7 variety. Interesting but crude "starburst" graffito on the reverse.)
(No 1799. Again, too pricey and rare for me.)
- 1800
- 1801 (Blundered "1/000" fraction, but not the "3 errors" type. I might keep either this or the 1806 for my type set.)
- 1802
- 1803
(Nope, no 1804 here, either, for obvious reasons.)
- 1805
- 1806 (This or the 1801 I may keep for my type set.)
- 1807 (Large 7 over 6)
- 1808
- 1809 (At least I think it's an 1809. That's the conclusion I reached after squinting through a loupe at it.)
- 1810
- 1811
- 1812
- 1813 (I'll probably keep this one for my type set.)
- 1814
(No 1815-dated cents were struck. The Mint didn't have enough copper.)
- 1816 (Weird. I have no idea what the scalloped edges and center hole were for on this one. A button? Who knows.)
- 1817
- 1818 (Too bad the hole position is off- I like the look of this one otherwise. Well, except for the dirt I forgot to remove.)
- 1819
- 1820
- 1821 (Some modern scuffing, but a slightly better date.)
- 1822 (I may keep either this or the 1828 for my type set.)
- 1823 (Somebody shot Miss Liberty in the chin before his aim improved.)
- 1824
- 1825
- 1826
- 1827
- 1828 (I may keep this or the 1822 for my type set.)
- 1829
- 1830
- 1831
- 1832
- 1833 (Somebody tried to blind Lady Liberty, and succeeded. Too bad, 'cause it's otherwise fairly decent looking.)
- 1834
- 1835
- 1836
- 1837
- 1838
- 1839
- 1840 (Holed, plugged, then... holed again! Ha. This coin cracks me up. What were they thinkin'?)
(Had an 1841 but it was naughty. One of those that someone tooled so it read "ONE C*NT". I gave it to savoyspecial for his "graffiti coin" collection.)
- 1842 (Yowch. That reverse looks like the front half of my body did after I kissed asphalt in a bicycle wreck at age 13.)
- 1843 (May have been affixed to a beam to bring a new building good luck- that's one way a lot of these got the center hole.)
- 1844 (Is that a counterstamp or a toolmark on the obverse? Probably the latter.)
- 1845
- 1846
- 1847
- 1848 (This is a pretty handsome holey, I think.)
- 1849 (Another fairly nice one. Not high grade or anything- I just like the color.)
- 1850 (Weakly struck date. I'm not sure if all 1850 cents were like this, but the one I dug while detecting was the same way.)
- 1851
- 1852
- 1853 (I may keep this or the 1855 for my type set.)
- 1854
- 1855 (Upright 5's- I may keep this or the 1853 for my type set.)
- 1856
- 1857 (The coin vandal apparently used a shotgun to hole this one, haha.)
These were sewn onto the back side of my famous Holey Coin Vest. I worked on this set from about 2001 to 2007 or so. As you can see, I just about completed it, with the exception of the tough 1793, 1795, 1799, and 1804 coins. Sure, some of these are slick or scary, but just think of how long a set like this would have taken to complete without eBay or Internet keyword searches. (The better part of a lifetime, I'll wager!)
I had fun with this set but I'm shifting gears and downsizing my sizeable holey collection. (Trust me, I still have plenty of holeys to wear on the vest!) I'll probably be breaking this set up and focusing more on my 19th century holey type set, instead. I already have a good bit of that done, but still no pictures yet.
Early copper experts, I'd greatly appreciate your input, particularly since these are unpicked for varieties. (I'd hate for something like this to happen again!)
Here they are. More mutilated copper than most sane people would care to see!

Photobucket slideshow (give it a moment to load, initially)
What? No 1792 Birch cent? Ha. Fuhgeddaboutit.
(Likewise for the 1793 Strawberry Leaf. Or any of the 1793 types or varieties, for that matter. Too rich for my blood.)

(I never got a 1795. They're pretty tough, even holed.)



(No 1799. Again, too pricey and rare for me.)




(Nope, no 1804 here, either, for obvious reasons.)










(No 1815-dated cents were struck. The Mint didn't have enough copper.)

























(Had an 1841 but it was naughty. One of those that someone tooled so it read "ONE C*NT". I gave it to savoyspecial for his "graffiti coin" collection.)
















0
Comments
Were you ever tempted to take a coin behind the barn and put a hole in it yourself?
Ron
Thanks for sharing
<< <i>Were you ever tempted to take a coin behind the barn and put a hole in it yourself? >>
Not really. That's "cheating". And besides, I wouldn't have the heart to drill a lovely old large cent.
But I'll confess there's been one or two times in the past where I "finished" a partial hole that somebody started a century or more earlier, which didn't go all the way through. If there's a "halfway" hole, 'tis no shame in drilling the rest of it out. Likewise for plugs- I drilled through a plug in the 1856-S quarter eagle on my hat. (It was an ugly, crude plug, anyway- not gold.)
All of the holes in the coins above are contemporary, to the best of my knowledge. One has to wonder about the story behind that 1840, which got a big hole in it and then later a big plug to repair the hole... only to have somebody else come along and drill another hole next to the plug!
<< <i>One has to wonder about the story behind that 1840, which got a big hole in it and then later a big plug to repair the hole... only to have somebody else come along and drill another hole next to the plug! >>
Probably some turn-of-the-century wacko who only collected coins with holes in them, saw the old plug and thought, "Oh well, I'll just drill it out again. That's not cheating!"
That is a very impressive achievment! Well done!
<< <i>Probably some turn-of-the-century wacko who only collected coins with holes in them, saw the old plug and thought, "Oh well, I'll just drill it out again. That's not cheating!" >>
Nice set Rob. Any comments about the vest from any dealers at FUN?
DPOTD-3
'Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery'
CU #3245 B.N.A. #428
Don
<< <i>Probably some turn-of-the-century wacko who only collected coins with holes in them, saw the old plug and thought, "Oh well, I'll just drill it out again. That's not cheating!" >>
Truth is often stranger than fiction!
I used to have an 1804 that would fit perfectly in this set. It didn't have
a hole in it but there would be no need to feel guilty putting one in since
a hole would have improved it. ...The bigger the better.
Lafayette Grading Set
<< <i>hey Rob nice set of holeys what an unbelievable feat. did you dig any of them up? or have you ever found a holed coin? >>
No, and yes. None of these were dug- I keep my dug coins in a separate album, and never sell or swap those. But yes, I have dug some holeys. Every half dime I've ever found was holed (one Capped Bust and three Seated). Additionally, all but one of the Spanish colonial reales I've ever dug were holed (three half-reales, a one-real, and a two-real, all holed except for one half-real dated 1787).