My holed ancient coins page gives an overview of different types of holed coins. These are my holed coin galleries:

Hellenic Coins — Roman Republican and Augustan Coins — First Century Roman Coins — Second Century Roman Coins — Third Century Roman Coins — Fourth Century Roman Coins — Fifth Century Roman Coins — Byzantine or Romaion Coins of Later Centuries — Other Holed Coins of Varying Origins and Times (this page)

Click on the image to see more about the coin.
	Bronze AE26 of Olbia in Sarmatia, c. 2nd century CE. 23mm x 24mm, 6.85 grammes.	This is a coin of a semi-autonomous town in Roman times. The obverse shows a wreathed head of Apollo, and the reverse has a sea-eagle grasping a fish. Although it is rather crude in execution, it is interesting in that it has two countermarks. A winged caduceus in an oval punch was applied first, then later a large delta in a triangular punch. Countermarks typically re-validated a coin, and were in use in many parts of the east. (This is a little vague because I know little about them. I will firm up this comment as I learn more.) The coin was holed to display Apollo.
	Holed silver drachm of the Sasanian Hormazd IV, 589 CE. 31mm, 3.5 grammes.	A silver coin from the Sasanian empire that ruled Persia and the surrounding territories after the downfall of the Parthians. It was holed to display the King of Kings rather than the fire altar with its two attendants on the other side. These coins were made very flat and thin, to give the most imposing display for the least expenditure of silver. There are several similar coins on my Fire Altar Coins page.
	Holed silver banales denarius of Stephen V of Slavonia, 1270-1272 CE. 15mm, 0.66 grammes.	This small silver coin is of Stephen V of Hungary. His realm included Slavonia for the years 1270-1272 CE. The obverse shows a marten, a weasel-like carnivore whose fur provided decoration on many royal robes of the period. Unlucky creature! This is a pretty little coin (though a bit grubby now) which has clearly been used as jewellery.
	Holed silver double dirham of the Mongol Mahmud Ghazan, c. 1301 CE. 25 x 26mm, 4.27 grammes.	I do not know a great deal about coins in Arabic or other Eastern scripts, because I cannot read them. This one is in Arabic on the obverse and has Mongolian Uighur and Chinese Pagspa scripts on the reverse. But I do know that some of them are quite beautiful. This one is a good example, with beautifully balanced design and calligraphy. The hole, on the other hand, is quite crude, and the flattening of the surface and bending of the coin surface near it suggest that the coin was nailed up somewhere without a great deal of care.
	Holed silver penny of Edward III, 1327-1377 CE. 18 x 19mm, 1.01 grammes.	An English silver penny of Edward III, minted in London. This shows the style of the time very nicely, with the king's youthful and fashionable flowing locks. The reverse is a long cross type, which replaced the short cross which had been in use previously. This design was intended to help prevent the coins being clipped; if part of the long cross was missing, the clipping would be immediately obvious. Though, this coin does appear to have suffered a minor clip.
	Holed silver penny of Charles I, 1625-1649 CE. 12 x 14mm, 0.38 grammes.	This penny of Charles the First was less fortunate. It has been trimmed completely out of shape, and has lost the outside of its legends and part if the crown. If a coin like this could circulate, it shows that clipping was an important problem. Perhaps that was why this coin was chosen for use as jewellery.
	Holed silver penny of Charles II, 1678 CE. 17mm, 1.43 grammes.	Milled coins like this one were much more regular in shape and size than hammered coins, so clipping was not a problem. This coin has three holes. The two at the top and bottom are well made, and are typical of a coin that has been strung with others into a bracelet. The third hole is a crude square punch, and was probably made before the others to hang this coin as a pendant.
	Holed silver penny of William III, 1701 CE. 12mm, 0.50 grammes.	This is a British silver penny from the sole reign of William III, following the death of his co-regent Mary in 1694. You can see that the style is the same as the previous coin, but this one is considerably smaller and lighter. This small coin with a tiny hole may have been used as a charm on a charm bracelet, or attached to a watch chain, possibly when it was already an old coin.
	Holed silver 10 para coin of Mustafa III, 1766 CE. 25mm, 3.83 grammes.	A silver coin of Mustafa III, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Smaller in diameter than the next coin, yet considerably heavier, this coin is still thin by modern standards. Many Islamic silver coins are pierced like this. As they are very showy for their weight and value, they must have mde good jewellery.
	Holed silver 1½ piastre coin of Mahmud II, 1812 CE. 27mm, 2.46 grammes.	Another Ottoman silver coin. It is thinner and flatter than the last, and in that way it follows the precedent of the Sasanid coins of Persia, very unlike the thick and chunky coins of the Indian subcontinent such as the next one down. It has been holed by punching rather than boring, but the hole is well shaped, so it must have been done carefully, and perhaps it was done this way so as not to lose any of the silver in the area of the hole.
	Holed silver eighth rupee of Hyderabad, 1839 CE. 12mm, 1.38 grammes.	This Indian coin was issued by Nasir ad-Daula in the name of Bahadur Shah. It is typical of many Indian coins, with a flan that was clearly much smaller than the die used to mint it. It may be only luck that the mintmark is so clear on this example. Still, it is a nice solid little coin.

Hellenic Coins — Roman Republican and Augustan Coins — First Century Roman Coins — Second Century Roman Coins — Third Century Roman Coins — Fourth Century Roman Coins — Fifth Century Roman Coins — Byzantine or Romaion Coins of Later Centuries — Other Holed Coins of Varying Origins and Times (this page)