Do holed coins still "hold" (no pun intended) a value? Should you buy coins with a hole in them? Let's hear your strategy if any when buying a holed coin or why you would never buy a holed coin. 1 1

[Mike Meenderink]

Below is a genuine 1795 Flowing Hair Half Dollar O-117 R4 in Fine condition. Without the hole its worth $2,600.00 +-. Is it ruined? IMO No it's not. I am of the school that believes this coin just like many other coins was holed before it was of significant value other than for good luck or use as a charm. This adds another layer of history to the coin. When in fact a rarer coin is holed and previously worn as a necklace sometimes just adds to the mystique and patina that tells the story of the journey of that coin. Granted a coin of the same grade, type and year would be more valuable without the hole but having a hole does not completely KILL the coin. Usually, coins with this type of damage (unless exceedingly rare) valuate around 35%-40% less than a coin with matching grade and no hole. A fair number for the coin below would be Appx $1650.00 with the hole. Yes? No? Do you care? Do I? HUH?  

[MorganMan]

Value is whatever it means to you. This Morgan was in a big group I acquired, and I had the chain, so I just made use of the existing hole. 

I like it. Don't care whether anyone else does or not. So, yes, it has value to me, just not monetary value.

Your coin will not grade in a holder, but it is still worth something just because it is genuine.

 

PS: I think NGC will still holder it without a grade and certify it genuine.

Edited May 25 by MorganMan

[Mike Meenderink]

@MorganManYou are mistaken as in both NGC and PCGS will grade and encapsulate this coin as Fine DETAILS Holed or if submitted as dealer Genuine grade can be achieved. 

Edited May 25 by Mike Meenderink

[Mike Meenderink]

[Henri Charriere]

Funny thing is I had no trouble ordering a coin from France from someone I never met, spoke to or had prior communication with, threw 2G in cash in an envelope, and mailed it, just like that, with nary a care in the world, but with your coin, I envision a large neon sign blinking on-and-off DEF-CON-1.and FULL STOP!  But why?

Part of it is... (you got time? Good!)  When I met my fiancee's mother for the first time, I brought her a textbook on Calculus and a full-color, quality brochure for a top-of-the-line Patek Phiippe chronograph. Her sisters translated my English to French:  "This is what I see in your daughter: perfection, beauty and a finished gem, both inside and out. She understood.

Mike, I understand what you are trying to convey with mere words, but I am a certified Virgo. I would not accept that coin if it were offered to me free in an inheritance, regardless its true value.  I don't acquire things that require an explanation down the line. I prefer the coin speak for itself.

🐓  : Pardon me, but wasn't that a holed coin that you got out of the mailbox last nite?

Q.A.:  Ricky, relax!  That was a token by patients admitted to the Federal Narcotics Hospital (known by various names) pre-holed, for use in vending machines circa 1935. The only explanation required is why I bought it. (I'll save that for JB's Token Tuesday topic

Irrespective of one's view, or that of a TPGS -- they call it details; NYPD homicide calls it a "through-and-through," a shot that entered and exited the deceased, cleanly.  Gratuitous comment:  Wanna compromise its value?  Give it an acetone bath!  

[VKurtB]

I never want ANY “problem coin”, least of all a holed one.

[Mike Meenderink]

On 5/25/2024 at 3:48 PM, VKurtB said:

I never want ANY “problem coin”, least of all a holed one.

Even if the holed coin was 1 of 1 or 2 known and had significant historical value, numismatic value as well as financial value? You can feel free to send any you don't want that may fit that description to me.

[Sandon]

    I have only two holed coins in my collection, one being the rare 1795 "3 leaf" half dollar (O-111) about which I wrote a topic a while back. See HOL(E)Y THREE LEAVES! - US, World, and Ancient Coins - NGC Coin Collectors Chat Boards. The other is an 1865-S half dime with AU details for which I recall paying $2 as a teenager back in the 1970s. These are also quite difficult to find in any decent grade. I had a few others as a young collector but sold them for very little long ago.

   A hole is obviously a severe impairment, and a holed coin, in my opinion, should only be worth a fraction (well under half) of an unimpaired example with equivalent detail. The "investor" and "connoisseur" sorts of collectors are unlikely to consider holed coins. In my opinion, they are only worthwhile as "fillers" for coins one couldn't otherwise find or afford, such as my "holey" three leaf Flowing Hair half dollar.

   

 

[Henri Charriere]

I have nothing to substantiate this assertion, but I have a feeling there are many more holed coins in India than in any other country in the world. The "coins," whether real or not are composed of 22k, or 91.6% pure gold.  German silver, contains no silver at all.  It contains a 60% Cu base, 20% Zn, and 20 % Ni. The English have their own system:  Sterling is 92.5% while Brittania (which I have never encountered  is at least 95.84% silver.

Getting back to India [which appears to hold their gold in high regard, I would assume the gold worn as jewelry has no real numismatic value and its true worth is as a form of wearable bullion] but I want to emphasize that is only my feeling particularly after visiting the heart of Little India and it's countless gold shops in Jakson Heights, Queens, N.Y. Holed coins are not common but my impression after perusing a number of catalogs from Europe is holed coins with numismatic value are rarely available for sale. As jewelry, gold outnumbered silver. Simply my impression.  Maybe I should ring up @zadok .  He is the go-to person on everything numismatic.   🤣

 

 

[J P M]

I purchased a $2.50 Liberty Head that after removing it from the 2x2 stapled holder you could see where a loop was attached on the rim. This was a gold-filled stud hole that did not affect the obverse or reverse. But still a problem coin.  I returned the coin for an upgrade to a $5 Liberty Head. I could not keep the coin knowing it was impaired and would never sell for more than melt if the kids ever wanted to sell it.

Edited May 26 by J P M

[ldhair]

I won't buy a holed coin. Even rare coins with problems can be tough to sell. Not that many folks care to buy them. I do own a few medals that are holed. 

[VKurtB]

On 5/25/2024 at 8:48 PM, Mike Meenderink said:

Even if the holed coin was 1 of 1 or 2 known and had significant historical value, numismatic value as well as financial value? You can feel free to send any you don't want that may fit that description to me.

When I am “scanning” coins leaning over a table, at a show or an auction, if a coin is holed, I stop looking at it IMMEDIATELY. I don’t even CARE what its date or history is. I’m out. 

[powermad5000]

I prefer a coin that will straight grade, or is already straight graded. However, some old copper can be very difficult to find in higher grades without some type of corrosion issue and if they have no issues, they are generally unaffordable to many if not most collectors (think 1811 half cent in any MS grade). That said, I would take details corrosion but I would not take one holed no matter how good the rest of the coin was, or how rare it is. A coin's history has nothing to do with it having a hole or not. The history speaks for itself if it was minted, and put away in great condition, and stored well. That means its history is someone cherished that coin so much to not spend it, but to keep it, protect it, and preserve it for future generations to be able to share that same affinity as the person who first put it away and be able to enjoy it in the same state of preservation as the owner who began that process. To me, a holed coin is dead. In the case of a 1 of 1, the hole then wouldn't matter because there is not a better specimen that is not holed, but even as a 1 of 1, I still would not want it with a hole even if I could afford it.

[MorganMan]

On 5/25/2024 at 6:10 PM, Mike Meenderink said:

@MorganManYou are mistaken as in both NGC and PCGS will grade and encapsulate this coin as Fine DETAILS Holed or if submitted as dealer Genuine grade can be achieved. 

 

 

When I said it would not grade, I meant it would not get a numeric grade in a holder.

[Moxie15]

I tend to take a bit of a different view than many here. I have several collections ranging from my PTSD cent collection to PF66 or higher nickels. I have a small cork board that I hang holed coins on. I have a large cent holed with a square nail to a Kennedy half and several foreign coins including an 80 Reis brazil of Pedro I counter stamped By Pedro II to 40 reis. 

[zadok]

On 5/30/2024 at 9:00 AM, Moxie15 said:

I tend to take a bit of a different view than many here. I have several collections ranging from my PTSD cent collection to PF66 or higher nickels. I have a small cork board that I hang holed coins on. I have a large cent holed with a square nail to a Kennedy half and several foreign coins including an 80 Reis brazil of Pedro I counter stamped By Pedro II to 40 reis. 

...holey cow batman there may be a market in cork board futures here...i jest, but do commend u for rescuing these orphans, i have some similar coins that i just cant submit to melting that i place in type set albums when they fit, an international smorgasbord if u will....