Roman Coins W/Hole In Center? - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 2 / Views: 9,514
bwbollom Valued Member United States 293 Posts	Posted 01/12/2010 12:34 am I noticed that a few of the Roman coins that I have appear to have a hole in the center. I was wondering if anyone knows what this could have been for? It would have to be intentional and for a specific reason (I would assume) since it seems to be a regular occurrence. Was it just to string many coins together for safekeeping/storage? It would seem that there would be easier ways to keep them than to physically drill holes into them. Anyway, here are a few examples of mine: The holes must have been drilled in ancient times because the patina has formed over the holes in each case. It does not appear to be something that has been done more recently...I don't think. I tried to google info about this and found some websites with information about holed Roman coins, but none looked like what I see here. There were those with multiple holes and just one hole, etc. but they all seemed different in size, placement, etc. Any help anyone could provide would be fantastic. It's nothing big, just something I've been curious about since I started getting into this and started noticing these holes... Thanks! Report this Post to the Staff

Sap Moderator Australia 16850 Posts	Posted 01/12/2010 03:28 am It's not an actual "hole" that goes all the way through the coin. It's called a "dimple" or "centration mark"; they can be found almost exclusively on bronze coinage and can be seen most commonly on the coins of Ptolemaic Egypt and certain Roman-period cities in the Danube region. We do know the dimples were placed on the blank coin prior to it being struck, and the strike was insufficiently powerful to obliterate it. However, there is debate about exactly how the dimples were generated. Some believe they are caused by the coin blank being screwed into a lathe-like apparatus so it could be smoothed out before being struck. Others believe they're caused by tongs used to hold the blank in a forge to soften it prior to striking. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis Report this Post to the Staff
bwbollom Valued Member United States 293 Posts	Posted 01/12/2010 12:35 pm Sap: Hey, thanks! Those explanations make sense...I hadn't thought about them being made PRIOR to striking! Works for me :) Thanks for the info! Report this Post to the Staff
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