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

lordmarcovanlordmarcovan Posts: 43,888 ✭✭✭✭✭
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! image

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.)

image - 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.)

image - 1796 (Smooth reverse, but surprisingly clear date.)

image - 1797 (Pretty slick, but datable.)

image - 1798 (The 8 over 7 variety. Interesting but crude "starburst" graffito on the reverse.)

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

image - 1800

image - 1801 (Blundered "1/000" fraction, but not the "3 errors" type. I might keep either this or the 1806 for my type set.)

image - 1802

image - 1803

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

image - 1805

image - 1806 (This or the 1801 I may keep for my type set.)

image - 1807 (Large 7 over 6)

image - 1808

image - 1809 (At least I think it's an 1809. That's the conclusion I reached after squinting through a loupe at it.)

image - 1810

image - 1811

image - 1812

image - 1813 (I'll probably keep this one for my type set.)

image - 1814

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

image - 1816 (Weird. I have no idea what the scalloped edges and center hole were for on this one. A button? Who knows.)

image - 1817

image - 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.)

image - 1819

image - 1820

image - 1821 (Some modern scuffing, but a slightly better date.)

image - 1822 (I may keep either this or the 1828 for my type set.)

image - 1823 (Somebody shot Miss Liberty in the chin before his aim improved.)

image - 1824

image - 1825

image - 1826

image - 1827

image - 1828 (I may keep this or the 1822 for my type set.)

image - 1829

image - 1830

image - 1831

image - 1832

image - 1833 (Somebody tried to blind Lady Liberty, and succeeded. Too bad, 'cause it's otherwise fairly decent looking.)

image - 1834

image - 1835

image - 1836

image - 1837

image - 1838

image - 1839

image - 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.)

image - 1842 (Yowch. That reverse looks like the front half of my body did after I kissed asphalt in a bicycle wreck at age 13.)

image - 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.)

image - 1844 (Is that a counterstamp or a toolmark on the obverse? Probably the latter.)

image - 1845

image - 1846

image - 1847

image - 1848 (This is a pretty handsome holey, I think.)

image - 1849 (Another fairly nice one. Not high grade or anything- I just like the color.)

image - 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.)

image - 1851

image - 1852

image - 1853 (I may keep this or the 1855 for my type set.)

image - 1854

image - 1855 (Upright 5's- I may keep this or the 1853 for my type set.)

image - 1856

image - 1857 (The coin vandal apparently used a shotgun to hole this one, haha.)


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Comments

  • melvin289melvin289 Posts: 3,019
    Now that was a job of Sisyaphean proportions. Very well done.

    Were you ever tempted to take a coin behind the barn and put a hole in it yourself?

    Ron
    Collect for the love of the hobby, the beauty of the coins, and enjoy the ride.
  • Batman23Batman23 Posts: 5,001 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Wow, that is a neat set. Obviously alot of work involved to come with all those.

    Thanks for sharingimage
  • lordmarcovanlordmarcovan Posts: 43,888 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <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!

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  • << <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!" image


    That is a very impressive achievment! Well done!
  • ajaanajaan Posts: 17,618 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <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!" >>


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    Nice set Rob. Any comments about the vest from any dealers at FUN? image

    DPOTD-3
    'Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery'

    CU #3245 B.N.A. #428


    Don
  • lordmarcovanlordmarcovan Posts: 43,888 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <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!" >>



    image

    Truth is often stranger than fiction!

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  • coolestcoolest Posts: 2,281 ✭✭✭
    Can you tell us why this seems to have been such a common practice? Do people drill holes in modern coins?
  • lordmarcovanlordmarcovan Posts: 43,888 ✭✭✭✭✭
    The practice is far less widespread than it was in the old days, when coins actually had some purchasing power and/or bullion value. People holed them for a variety of reasons, to sew them into clothing or carry them on a string, to use them as ornaments or talismans, or "lucky" pieces, or just... because. The number of 19th century coins with meticulously-carved graffiti attests to the fact that many folks obviously had more time on their hands back then. Nowadays coins are an afterthought- nobody (at least amongst the general public) pays much attention to their modern pocket change, so it's not very often that someone bothers to drill or counterstamp or engrave a coin, anymore.

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  • cladkingcladking Posts: 28,736 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Cool set.

    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. image
    tempus fugit extra philosophiam.
  • lordmarcovanlordmarcovan Posts: 43,888 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I thought about drilling and then artificially wearing down and darkening some replicas for the rare dates (leaving the COPY stamp on them, obviously), but I never did that. Good quality replicas ain't that cheap, and I wasn't willing to throw money away on 'em. Still, it would have been kind of funny.

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  • HoledandCreativeHoledandCreative Posts: 2,831 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Holey coin collection! Great to see it.
  • kazkaz Posts: 9,277 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Very cool set of holey copper!
  • ConstantineConstantine Posts: 2,369 ✭✭✭
    That would make one heck of a charm bracelet!
  • lordmarcovanlordmarcovan Posts: 43,888 ✭✭✭✭✭
    That would make one heck of a heavy charm bracelet. There's a pound or more of copper there. This large cent set on the back of my Holey Coin Vest made a nice counterweight to all the other holeys on the front. Without balancing the weight of all the coins, the fabric would have slid right off my shoulders and pulled too far to one side or another. The vest probably weighs four or five pounds, but with the weight balanced, it doesn't feel too much heavier than the average coat.

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  • ClosedLoopClosedLoop Posts: 1,077 ✭✭✭
    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?
    figglehorn
  • pocketpiececommemspocketpiececommems Posts: 6,052 ✭✭✭✭✭
    And I'll bet that you had a lot of fun putting this set together. image
  • lordmarcovanlordmarcovan Posts: 43,888 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <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).

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