🔎 UNIDENTIFIED US Colonial Defaced King George III Copper 1770-1775.

[JamesJr]

I dug this coin in Virginia along the Old Yorktown Road. It shows some effort to deface the King. Very unusual. My detector buddies who along with me are former military speculate that like now, coins were used to identify your unit by coin. Maybe yo\u displayed it at the bar drinking with your buds identify who you were as a revolutionary. What do you think and has any other been dug?

 

[UnderMiner]

Wow, that's cool. A patriot worked really hard to carve that bust out. Dang, I saw one of these at a coin shop and didn't know what it was, but the whole center was removed just like this only even bigger of a chunky hole. I think it was a King George copper that had been defaced, knew there was something special about that coin. I have to go back and see if its still there. Back story, I was in a coin shop several months ago and saw a big copper with a giant carved hole in it in the "damaged large cents" bin and they only wanted a dollar for it, kicking myself now.

 

[Jack873]

It could have been used as a washer.

 

[unclemac]

utilitarian, i like the idea

 

[JamesJr]

Looked it up everywhere with no luck. I see where they have defaced coins in Britain but not in the US. Seems like a lot of work just to make a copper washer. There are probably softer metals to work with. Thanks for the replies.

 

[pepperj]

Looked it up everywhere with no luck. I see where they have defaced coins in Britain but not in the US. Seems like a lot of work just to make a copper washer. There are probably softer metals to work with. Thanks for the replies.

An attempt to repurpose the coin, or to deface it, that we will never know.

But from digging my share of coppers, I occasionally have dug a holed one.

Was it used as a washer/shim for something 🤔
Folks mostly settled in the middle of the rural if they wanted property.
Any type of supply settlement could be a mile or many miles.
Middle of winter or spring break up or the homesteaders was in the middle of something.
Half Penny's were a handy fix for many projects.

 

[UnderMiner]

I don't think it was used as a washer. The edges of the hole are still flared indicating there was no pressure applied to it from any metal, such as would have been by a tightened nut or other fastener, which would have worn it down. My bet is this was indeed done by someone who hated the king, maybe a kid who had time to spare who just really wanted to express his feelings in a visceral way. Perhapse his father and brothers, and maybe even himself, were actively engaged in the war. People taking out their anger on a monarch's image on a coin by scratching it is widely known to have happened. Punching the image out entirely is likely a sign of the deepest most personal hatred. It could have even been sort of a challenge coin, used in bars to indicate one was a patriot, simply through the fact a loyalist wouldn't dare display such a thing in public. Not to go on a historical tangent but this also reminds me of when the Berlin Wall fell, people in East Berlin cut the image out of the center of the East German flag to indicate they were no longer under that regime, this can be seen as an analogous mentality to the person who defaced the coin, as it may just be a common thing to do in times of extreme political change.

 

[JamesJr]

Would there have been a way to make the hole round if it indeed was used as a washer. So Peppej - If you found holed ones did they look like this? Violently defaced or smoothly holed? I plan on giving this to the Williamsburg Historical Society and have them delve into it. It would be really neat if indeed these were used to signal that they were rebels against the British when shown to friends and neighbors. Don't be throwing away those holed George III coins just yet.

 

[AU Seeker]

Would there have been a way to make the hole round if it indeed was used as a washer. So Peppej - If you found holed ones did they look like this? Violently defaced or smoothly holed? I plan on giving this to the Williamsburg Historical Society and have them delve into it. It would be really neat if indeed these were used to signal that they were rebels against the British when shown to friends and neighbors. Don't be throwing away those holed George III coins just yet.

A hole like that is extremely rare, I have never seen another, most "holed" coins had only a small hole in them so the coin could be sewed into a garment/clothing or on a string around your neck to avoid losing them or having the coin stolen, pockets were notorious for getting holes and losing what you had in them, also easy for someone being good at being a "pickpocket" to take them.

Smoothing out the hole would have had to been done using a round file, IMHO, which not many people had, my best guess on how the hole was done is with a nail and hammer, in a "connect the dots fashion".

 

[l.cutler]

In the end, it is holed and there is no way to say why. Could have been utilitarian, to make something, could have been a kid messing around, who knows. I've collected colonial coins for decades and seen them made into kid's toys, pie crimpers, washers, clock gears etc. I've never heard of one being defaced just to signify displeasure or disloyalty to King George, anything is possible though. If one were trying to deface though, it would be more effective and easier to scrape or grind off the offending effigy than to make the series of holes.

 

[Retired Sarge]

Scroll down on the provided link. There is a holed coin being used as washer on a rein guide.

🔎 UNIDENTIFIED - What is this copper?

I have been going thru a few bags of finds from our old farm and came across a few items I am curious about, perhaps someone has some ideas. First up is this heavy copper item. The patina is absolutely amazing, a heavy and almost perfect apple green. This has been in the ground for a long time...

www.treasurenet.com

 

[JamesJr]

Scroll down on the provided link. There is a holed coin being used as washer on a rein guide.

https://www.treasurenet.com/threads/what-is-this-copper.702474/#post-7245286[/URL

http://

 

[JamesJr]

I gave this to the Williamsburg VA Historical Society to track down and if there is a pattern of defaced coins we may be on to something. Military members use challenge coins now to identify they are special ops. When you are special ops you are given a coin to identify you by your unit. You carry it and show it when you need to identify yourself with other members of the military when needed outside military circles. If there are more that look the same please send them to me or post.

 

[Retired Sarge]

In my, uneducated, opinion, I honestly believe the coin you found was re-purposed for something mundane and the purpose/reason lost to time. Such as a washer, etc.

As for challenge coins they are actually used by just about every military MOS/AFSC/Rate etc, they are not limited to Special Forces/Special Operations. Although one story shows Army Special Forces as one of the origins of the original coins.

We call them RMO Round Metallic Objects, if you get Coin Checked at the bar and don't have it you buy a round for every one. If everyone has it the person who called for the coin check buys a round for everyone.

I have several challenge coins that have special meaning to me. Example.

SEAL Team 3 coin, given to my by SWCPO H******n. He had just transferred from Team 3 to DEVGU right before 9-11, so he didn't have a DEVGRU coin yet. While deployed I provide survival vests and training to the SEALS.

Green Beret coin, I swapped unit coins with a SSgt Vance, shortly after we exchanged coins he was killed in action.

75th Rangers Regiment Commander's coin, presented to members of our unit the 711th SOS for in country fund raising we did for the families of the two Rangers killed on hit night 18/19 Oct 2001.

Plus a myriad of coins from various units I was in or supported, deployment coins, and a few coins presented by Multi-Star Generals.

A link to some suggested birth origins of Challenge Coins, there are more theories if you dig deeper.

https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-Stories/Story/article/2567302/the-challenge-coin-tradition-do-you-know-how-it-started/

 

[JamesJr]

In my, uneducated, opinion, I honestly believe the coin you found was re-purposed for something mundane and the purpose/reason lost to time. Such as a washer, etc.

As for challenge coins they are actually used by just about every military MOS/AFSC/Rate etc, they are not limited to Special Forces/Special Operations. Although one story shows Army Special Forces as one of the origins of the original coins.

We call them RMO Round Metallic Objects, if you get Coin Checked at the bar and don't have it you buy a round for every one. If everyone has it the person who called for the coin check buys a round for everyone.

I have several challenge coins that have special meaning to me. Example.

SEAL Team 3 coin, given to my by SWCPO H******n. He had just transferred from Team 3 to DEVGU right before 9-11, so he didn't have a DEVGRU coin yet. While deployed I provide survival vests and training to the SEALS.

Green Beret coin, I swapped unit coins with a SSgt Vance, shortly after we exchanged coins he was killed in action.

75th Rangers Regiment Commander's coin, presented to members of our unit the 711th SOS for in country fund raising we did for the families of the two Rangers killed on hit night 18/19 Oct 2001.

Plus a myriad of coins from various units I was in or supported, deployment coins, and a few coins presented by Multi-Star Generals.

A link to some suggested birth origins of Challenge Coins, there are more theories if you dig deeper.

https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-Stories/Story/article/2567302/the-challenge-coin-tradition-do-you-know-how-it-started/

Thanks Mike. The reason I thought colonial challenge coin is I am post Vietnam era Air Force, retired in 90's, and am a two assignments to Hurlburt Field guy who served with Army as a Forward Air Controller and spent so much time with 7th Special Forces group that I have my coin. We actually did coin checks on occasion with others just because. But we carried them on missions because they might help find your body when you went to strange places and you could go up missing in action. They would not let us carry other ID, just your uniform which can rot away after you met some other fate. All my treasure hunting buddies are ex-military that's why the idea of these coins be challenge coins was a natural for us to think up. Our coins had numbers stamped on instead of names and they are registered with the unit at Ft Bragg. If you can access you will find my name and unit. I think they gave me 1111 because I was Air Force and they did want anyone else to think they were going to get all number 1's. There are reasons for everything including this defaced coin.

🔎 UNIDENTIFIED - What is this copper?

I have been going thru a few bags of finds from our old farm and came across a few items I am curious about, perhaps someone has some ideas. First up is this heavy copper item. The patina is absolutely amazing, a heavy and almost perfect apple green. This has been in the ground for a long time...

www.treasurenet.com

 

[ARC]

I also vote repurpose... most of the defaced coins i have seen in person are simply X'd or scratched through etc.
This was a purposeful act which took some doing ... overkill by leaps and bounds in the context of defacement.
Also...
A kid as mentioned would have been hard pressed to achieve this... it would be ragged at best.
This IMO was done to create a use.
Now...
What that would have been... only the creator would know.

 

[Retired Sarge]

Thanks Mike. The reason I thought colonial challenge coin is I am post Vietnam era Air Force, retired in 90's, and am a two assignments to Hurlburt Field guy who served with Army as a Forward Air Controller and spent so much time with 7th Special Forces group that I have my coin. We actually did coin checks on occasion with others just because. But we carried them on missions because they might help find your body when you went to strange places and you could go up missing in action. They would not let us carry other ID, just your uniform which can rot away after you met some other fate. All my treasure hunting buddies are ex-military that's why the idea of these coins be challenge coins was a natural for us to think up. Our coins had numbers stamped on instead of names and they are registered with the unit at Ft Bragg. If you can access you will find my name and unit. I think they gave me 1111 because I was Air Force and they did want anyone else to think they were going to get all number 1's. There are reasons for everything including this defaced coin.

My Flintlock 90 coin (Flintlock is the name of a major annual special operations exercise) has a serial number on it. The number was entered into a green record book the 7th SOS kept. When I got the coin they entered my name next to number to show who it was issued to.

I was told it was for unit historical purposes and was also told it was so they can trace the coin back to the owner if lost, and the owner would pay a massive beer fine for losing their coin.

As Aircrew Life Support (86-08) I worked with a FAC unit for just over two years, and spent almost 17 years working under AFSOC. Everything we had, had to be sanitized, no unit information. Get a combat mission ride on one of our birds, no patches, no coins, no nothing. Survival equipment we installed on the aircraft and aircrew flight equipment no unit markings. Heck even operating from an different country and our crews flying into Afghanistan or Iraq, us support personnel had to sanitize our uniforms.

 

[Bamasteve]

In my, uneducated, opinion, I honestly believe the coin you found was re-purposed for something mundane and the purpose/reason lost to time. Such as a washer, etc.

As for challenge coins they are actually used by just about every military MOS/AFSC/Rate etc, they are not limited to Special Forces/Special Operations. Although one story shows Army Special Forces as one of the origins of the original coins.

We call them RMO Round Metallic Objects, if you get Coin Checked at the bar and don't have it you buy a round for every one. If everyone has it the person who called for the coin check buys a round for everyone.

I have several challenge coins that have special meaning to me. Example.

SEAL Team 3 coin, given to my by SWCPO H******n. He had just transferred from Team 3 to DEVGU right before 9-11, so he didn't have a DEVGRU coin yet. While deployed I provide survival vests and training to the SEALS.

Green Beret coin, I swapped unit coins with a SSgt Vance, shortly after we exchanged coins he was killed in action.

75th Rangers Regiment Commander's coin, presented to members of our unit the 711th SOS for in country fund raising we did for the families of the two Rangers killed on hit night 18/19 Oct 2001.

Plus a myriad of coins from various units I was in or supported, deployment coins, and a few coins presented by Multi-Star Generals.

A link to some suggested birth origins of Challenge Coins, there are more theories if you dig deeper.

https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-Stories/Story/article/2567302/the-challenge-coin-tradition-do-you-know-how-it-started/

Thank you for clarifying that for the non military among us!

 

[Bamasteve]

In the Cavalry we called them “Cav Coins”

 

[pepperj]

Would there have been a way to make the hole round if it indeed was used as a washer. So Peppej - If you found holed ones did they look like this? Violently defaced or smoothly holed? I plan on giving this to the Williamsburg Historical Society and have them delve into it. It would be really neat if indeed these were used to signal that they were rebels against the British when shown to friends and neighbors. Don't be throwing away those holed George III coins just yet.

Just saw your query.
Not serrated edged like yours.
Here's a repurposed Half Penny