Reviving this dormant topic to add some new sources.
I have recently started a new
gallery for my holed coins:
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=7310I have been researching these coins, and the question of why coins were holed or perforated in general, and wanted to share some resources I have found. I found most via academia.edu:
Jean-Marc
Doyen. THE CHAIRMAN’S ADDRESS: THE “CHARON’S
OBOL”: SOME METHODOLOGICAL REFLEXIONS, in The Journal of Archaeological
Numismatics, 2, 2012.
Jean-Marc
Doyen. THE CHAIRMAN’S ADDRESS: ENTRE AMULETTES ET TALISMANS, LES MONNAIES TROUÉES : CE QUI SE CACHE SOUS LES APPARENCES, in The Journal of Archaeological
Numismatics, 3, 2013.
Agnes Gazdac-Alfoldy and
Christian Gazdac. Coins in Funerary Contexts: The Case of Brigetio,
in Ex Officinia…Studia in Honorem Denes Gabler, 2009.
Claudia Perassi, MONETE ROMANE FORATE: QUALCHE RIFLESSIONE SU ‘‘UN GRAND THEME EUROPE´EN’’, in Aevum, #85, 2011.
Mirjana Vojvoda, PERFORATED COINS FROM GRAVES AT THE
VIMINACIUM NECROPOLIS OF PECINE, in Starinar, #68, 2018.
Mirjana Vojvoda, PERFORATED COINS FROM GRAVES AT THE
VIMINACIUM NECROPOLIS OF VISE GROBALJA, in Starinar, #65, 2015.
Lajos Juhász. Perforated
Roman coins from the Aquincum-Graphisoft cemetery, in Numismatica Pannonica I, 2019.
As you can see all seven of these works were published since the last posting on this
thread.... So there is a lot of exciting new information out there.
To me, the most important information
comes from the works by Vojvoda and Juhasz as they address the question of holed coins in the central Balkans - where many of my coins came from. Their findings are that one of the main, if not the main use of perforated coins was on small bracelets or necklaces, especially for children. These consisted of one or a few coins plus things like a
bulla, shell prices, perforated stones, small
amulets, etc. These strings likely served a couple of purposes - entertained for infants as rattles and such, but also as
apotropaic (or sympathetic magical protection)
amulets....
SC