Why holes in coins?

[berkshiregold]

I have an 1862 3 cent coin with a hole in it and I've seen numerous posts of coins that have holes punched in them. Was it common to use these as necklaces or charms?

 

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[Mich. Wolverine]

The theory that you hear the most is that they put holes in them and then ran a string through the coins so that they wouldn't be lost. I guess if they had them all tied together there was less chance of losing them than having a pocket full of loose change.

Wolverine.

 

[Montana Jim]

The theory that you hear the most is that they put holes in them and then ran a string through the coins so that they wouldn't be lost. I guess if they had them all tied together there was less chance of losing them than having a pocket full of loose change.

Wolverine.

There ya go... I agree.

Unless they were drilled to make jewelry or whizzers.

 

[Siegfried Schlagrule]

holes near the rims were for bracelets or charms. Larger rim holed coins
were for teething or birth years and ocasionally saw use as watch fobs.
Larger round center holes were used as washers for slate roofs when the
suppliers tried to jack up the prices from 1/4 cent each to two cents each.
Ragged center holes were made by indians so that they could use them for
buttons on leather garments. Two knots on a piece of rawhide did the trick.
Wartime coins with holes were sometimes for hate money. I've seen them
with holes like buttons in them. When it is on a peacetime coin it was for
use as buttons so that people with arthritus could dress themselves. On
wartime coins it was usually so they could be sewn to the inside of military belts as "hate" money and the coins were taken from the corpses of the enemy.
Most of the coins on strings were center holed and they are still made that
way in Africa. Some are found in the old slaves quarters of the south. Many
slaves saved every penny they could get so that they could buy their freedom.
siegfried schlagrule

 

[berkshiregold]

Interesting information! It sounds like you did some homework siegfried. Thanks for the feedback guys. bg

 

[hikeinmts]

Just to add to Siegfried's comments. Almost 100% of coins minted in China, Korea, Japan, and (perhaps) Annam - VietNam - were holed, prior to the very late 1800's. Common story in all of these countries is that they were, indeed holed to put some kind of small rope, though them, and then they would be hidden under the long outer-flowing garments that were commonly worn in each of the countries. I think that that is mainly true, but it does not account for the many single-dropped holed coins that I find when THing in Korea. Only thing I can think of is that only the very wealthy had enough to put on a stringer, and the poor joes would put their single or several coins in whatever kind of pocket they had available. (Maybe MaMa would only let Dad out of the house with a few coins, so he couldn't get in too much trouble.....like my wife does me. )
It wasn't me, but another hunting buddy who did find a stringer of coins in the hills....kind of stuck together, just as we see pieces of metal
stick to other pieces of metal when left in the ground for a long period of time. He took time to slowly soak them in lemon juice, and let the citric acid do the trick.....a cleaning method I still use. He had a stringer of 56 of the larger denomination-2 coins....an average of 32 or 33 mms in diameter. All were Korean coins except one, and dated from the mid-1600's to the mid-1700's. The one was a huge Chinese coin, about double the size of the smaller Korean coins, and it dated about 1,000 a.d.......a truly great find.....and I could have killed him.
Been jealous ever since. Why coudn't it have been me?

 

[berkshiregold]

Very nice finds hikeinmts! He's lucky to say the least!! I can't imagine finding something that's a thousand years old!!! Thanks for the info. bg

 

[Mackaydon]

On page 236 of a book written by Homer Hulbert entitled "The Passing of Korea", he writes about coin casting, stating:
"The metal was poured into moulds....... These were broken up, and the coins were strung on square metal rods that just fitted the (square) hole in the coin. The ends of this rod were then put in a rude vise, and men with enormous coarse files ground down the edges of a thousand or more coins at a time."
In other words, in Korea the square hole was used in making the coins.

Previous to square holes were round holes, but they could not 'hold' during this filing process, so square holes were introduced. Various cultures also used the round and square holes to symbolize China (square hole) and the Universe (round hole), for example.
Don....

 

[seger98]

I've also heard that in the logging camps up here in Northern Wi. that they use to sew them to the inside of their jackets so they wouldn't lose them & it was harder for someone to steal them from them. Also alot of lumber tokens from up here also have holes in them.

 

[JakefaePa]

What ive been told by collectors of holed US coinage that the pre civil war coins were holed often to use as sweetheart tokens/jewelery or good luck tokens as silver was regarded as lucky.

 

[stefen]

"....Most of the coins on strings were center holed and they are still made that
way in Africa. Some are found in the old slaves quarters of the south. Many
slaves saved every penny they could get so that they could buy their freedom...."
siegfried schlagrule

Interesting...I have a 1858 Flying Eagle Cent that is center holed...the hole edges are somewhat mushroomed on both sides...which means that a hole was enlarged possibly using an awl or a nail. Coin description is correct for the Civil War period...

 

[allen]

ive seen numerous old coins made into necklaces like that.

 

[aaron7]

I have many 1800's US coins with holes. Makes it easier to collect as they are always cheap! I have large cents, half cents, old silver... you name it!

I bought most of them one time when I went to Boston and saw a coin store (don't remember where it was... near a small graveyard that was tucked between two buildings). I guess some new guy had marked the prices on them and I bought several coin sleeve pages full for around $1 each coin!

Snapped a few pics of some of my favorites.

 

[silvercop]

i find at least 1 holed coin a week

 

[BamaBill]

There was one use that I haven't seen mentioned (probably what the flying eagle cent was used for), that was nailing a coin to the center post of a new house for good luck.

 

[stefen]

Never heard of that custom before, but you may be onto something...

 

[Silver Searcher]

Coins with holes have been found in England for Centuries, and were known as touch pieces, touch pieces were said to cure diseases or bring good luck, or even influence peoples behaviour.

The tradition of touch pieces dates back to Roman times, were the Emperor Vespasian( AD-79 ) gave coins to the sick at a ceremony known as the touching.

The one I have pictured is a hammered Silver half penny rose from the reign of Charles1 1625-49, this coin is very special to me, and I would never part with it.

SS.

 

[Siegfried Schlagrule]

Your string of 56 korean and chinese coins was most likely a sword hilt.
Samurai and mercenaries would collect their pay and use it for the hilt of their sword. The tang on the sword blade was also square. This didn't happen much with holes added to coins but was relatively common for coins that were manufactured with center holes. Some of the greatest discoveries of rare asian coins have been made by dismantling the hilts of common old swords. The key dates and rarities are then cherry-picked and replaced with commons and the sword is sold as the antique that it is. Even common old swords cost hundreds of dollars so it's not something that the little guy can do very often.
siegfried schlagrule

 

[Timbersnort]

I've also heard that in the logging camps up here in Northern Wi. that they use to sew them to the inside of their jackets so they wouldn't lose them & it was harder for someone to steal them from them. Also alot of lumber tokens from up here also have holes in them.

Logging camp "silks & shawls" token by trader McKenzie & Mcmullen 1850s, found in PA.

 

[fistfulladirt]

There was one use that I haven't seen mentioned (probably what the flying eagle cent was used for), that was nailing a coin to the center post of a new house for good luck.

Yep, I first read about that in a metal detecting book in the mid-1970’s...I was 14 with a brand new Whites Coinmaster II.