Antiquities > Fibulae and Clothing Items

Ancient Coins pierced for Other Uses

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Mayadigger:
Ave!

In an another post https://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=130516.0
our friend Quadrans mentioned that he'd always been interested in things like when a coin was used for some other function.

That goes for me, as well.

As seen in the photos, many were obviously pierced by a round awl and while others were pierced with a rectangular instrument, to be worn as a pendent (?), but not all.
Some were holed in the center, others had multiple holes, and others, way too many that do not make any sense at all.

These "holed" coins are dated from 1st Century - 3rd Century LRBB issues.

What are your thoughts, please?

Best to all,

Kevin

*Alex:
I read somewhere (can't remember where, but suspect it would have been a book rather than online) that coins were sometimes used to make emergency repairs to armour. That might account for some of the multiple holed coins.

Alex

Molinari:
Parts of fishing lures? 

Virgil H:
Interesting answers so far, could be so many possibilities. I love the fishing and armor repair suggestions. There was, I think here on Forum, a pic of a Roman bronze coin that had an unusual edge hole, could have been a bad flan, could have been used to pry something and broke. When I lived in West Germany in the late 70s, I found a Nazi zinc coin that was used with plaster to repair a hole in the wall under wallpaper (still have it). I was helping the landlord paint the wall and the wallpaper was probably as old as the mid-late 1940s (although who knows when the wall was actually repaired, but the wallpaper was old enough - I was a lowly enlisted man with a family and that place was cheap, LOL, although Germans told me I was being ripped off). House was built in early 1800s, three floors, each an apartment. I think use for a variety of repairs is a thing for low value coins, I have used them to pry, open bottles, as levelers, welding patches, after Germany I have actually used them with drywall to repair a hole in the wall, so many things.

Virgil

quadrans:
Hi,

Interesting pieces…

My friend Stultus (here) have some opinion of this …
I will send him this thread …👍👍

Regards

Joe

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