Holed Coins...one possible answer?
ambro51
Posts: 13,952 ✭✭✭✭✭
While chatting with my lumberyard man....he mentioned he had a buffalo nickel with a hole drilled in it. Hmmmmmm
His thought, and I dont know how true this is, but certainly one for speculation...
He told me that years ago it was common to tie a string or piece of fishing line onto a coin. It could be put into a vending machine, or a gas meter...and pulled back out.
Hmmmm.......
Anyone have any knowledge of this?
Of course, some holed coins were not used in vending machines, like gold dollars....but for nickels...hmmmm sort of makes sense.,
He told me that vending machine makers got wise to this trick and now have a little blade that cuts the line if the coin is pulled back.
do you think all this is pure BS or is there some fact to it?
His thought, and I dont know how true this is, but certainly one for speculation...
He told me that years ago it was common to tie a string or piece of fishing line onto a coin. It could be put into a vending machine, or a gas meter...and pulled back out.
Hmmmm.......
Anyone have any knowledge of this?
Of course, some holed coins were not used in vending machines, like gold dollars....but for nickels...hmmmm sort of makes sense.,
He told me that vending machine makers got wise to this trick and now have a little blade that cuts the line if the coin is pulled back.
do you think all this is pure BS or is there some fact to it?
0
Comments
the buffalo nickel is probably the likeliest candidate.
earlier coins were holed for charms/love tokens, suspension, safekeeping, nailed to things, etc.
Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry
<< <i>It was done and is the reason most soda machines had a cutting mechanism in the coin slot to cut any possible string. >>
Is it ethical to cut smoeone's string if you don't own it?
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<< <i>Coin on a string worked in old pay phones too, with the quarter - dime - nickel sized holes. Also used to tear a long narrow strip out of the phone book, thread it in and trip the dial tone switch for local calls.
we had a couple of old .10 cent phones at work that took a nickel. supposidly they never corrected it. they eventually got pulled cause of the cell phone use ( which was way up and the phones werent cost effective )
<< <i>I was told once that coins holed around the time of the civil war were placed on a pin so that the soldier wouldn't lose their money during battle. >>
While that theory holds water i always understood the coins of the era were holed and strung or sewed into a item of clothing primarily because of the size of coin and how easily lost they were regardless of activity.
This seems to make sense as holed coins are not peculiar to the civil war era and we see them worldwide,generally smaller silver coins which perhaps held significant value at the time.
Modern ones with strings for machines.
Old ones sewn into clothes or kept on a string.
Some used as buttons, washers, spacers.
Some nailed to buildings like barns to mark a date.
There are a lot of cents reduced down to dime size to trick the old machines too.