Have you ever made a coin holey?

[pendragon1998]

Ever driven a nail through one? Drilled one out? Ever holed a coin?

[MunkyMan95]

Yes, a few. Buffalo nickels and Lincoln cents.

[pendragon1998]

I should also have asked, "Why?"

[Bugmann1974]

I sandblasted a hole into a zinc Lincoln one time. Just to see how long it would take.

 

It took about 5 minutes of continuous blast.

[Schatzy]

NO

[Jim Beam]

I never put a hole in a coin but when I was a kid I use to put pennies on the railroad track and let a train flatten them. This was long before I became a collector. Wonder how many '09-S VDB's I went through?

[cpm9ball]

Yes, I annointed a silver dollar by dipping it into Lake Tahoe, and then I put it into a slot machine.

 

Chris

 

PS. I do have a 19xx WLH with the hole drilled through the last two numbers of the date that I found in a bank roll.

[RareSov]

It's illegal to deface coinage here, such as drilling a hole

 

NOPE

[MorganMan]

No, but I made use of one I had that already had a hole in it. I do also have a few of those oval shaped "railroad tokens" made out of pennies on the tracks....

 

 

On second thought, I wonder about all those well worn walker halves I used to put in the collection plate at church when I was a kid. My dad would hand them to me to place in the plate.

 

MM

 

 

[MunkyMan95]

I did it just to see how easy it would be.

 

Using a drill, it wasn't as easy as I thought. I didn't account for the amount of friction that would occur (duh!), and the coin ended up heating up and burned my fingers!

[WoodenJefferson]

I can’t exactly remember when I holed this Walker for my key chain, but the hole has significantly enlarged over the years, the ring used to fit snug.

If nothing else, at least I could make a phone call…but I’d have to trade it for two quarters.

 

[WinstonWare]

I bezeled a norse American which I wear everyday.

[cpm9ball]

I can’t exactly remember when I holed this Walker for my key chain, but the hole has significantly enlarged over the years, the ring used to fit snug.

If nothing else, at least I could make a phone call…but I’d have to trade it for two quarters.

 

 

Sorry, Woody, but with that hole in it, you will only get one quarter, two dimes and three cents.

 

Chris

[WinstonWare]

Ah I found it..

 

 

[pendragon1998]

It's illegal to deface coinage here, such as drilling a hole

 

NOPE

 

 

Incorrect. That's a populat misconception.

 

 

According to U.S.code Title 18, Chapter 17, Section 331:

 

Whoever fraudulently alters, defaces, mutilates, impairs, diminishes, falsifies, scales, or lightens any of the coins coined

at the mints of the United States, or any foreign coins which are by law made current or are in actual use or circulation

as money within the United States; or

 

Whoever fraudulently possesses, passes, utters, publishes, or sells, or attempts to pass, utter, publish, or sell, or brings

into the United States, any such coin, knowing the same to be altered, defaced, mutilated, impaired, diminished, falsified,

scaled, or lightened—

 

Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

 

The key word here is 'fraudulently'. You can legally drive a nail through a coin, paint it, melt it, squish it, or shave off a corner, but if do so with fraudulent intent (or spend or sell it with fraudulent intent), then you're breaking the law. Take the racketeer nickels: under this law (pretend this law applied then) it wouldn't be illegal to gold-plate a centless V-nickel, but it would be illegal to pass it to a store owner with the fraudulent intent of tricking him into giving back change for a $5 gold piece.

 

No problem at all with punching holes into coins to make collectables.

[MunkyMan95]

Pretty sure RareSov lives in Australia

[physics-fan3.14]

It's illegal to deface coinage here, such as drilling a hole

 

NOPE

 

 

Incorrect. That's a populat misconception.

 

I was gonna say.... RareSov's "here" is not the same as our "here."

[pendragon1998]

 

Well, FYI for Americans.