Due to their small size United States gold dollars were often used by 19th century jewelers to manafacture "Love Tokens".
In his collectors Journal entry "The Lighter Side of California Gold Tokens" http://www.collectors-society.com/JournalDetail.aspx?JournalEntryID=11448 Cal Gold "Token" Guy reports that California Gold Tokens and California Denomination Gold Pieces were heavily holed for jewelry.
United States Gold Dollars were another common raw material for jewelry. Due to their small size gold dollars were the perfect choice for "Love Tokens". "Love Tokens" were made by smoothing down one side of a Gold Dollar and re-engraving it with the initials of the recipient.
During the 19th century many gold dollars were defaced to make this popular gift item.
The "Love Token" pictured below was engraved on the smoothed reverse of a U.S. Liberty Head (Type 1) Gold Dollar. The initials "E W" are engraved in very elaborate -script. Instead of punching a hole in the "Love Token" the jeweler sodered a loop on the top of the piece.
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