1896 barber half with necklace hole, any guesses at a value?

[fenian13]

n/t

 

[digitaltim]

Just the value of the metal itself.

 

[fenian13]

I was expecting that. It's still cool though. Thanks for the reply.

 

[fowlercharles]

your Barber Half was never worn on a necklace, but was , as were so many of the older coins with holes,were sewn into folks clothing as a way of consealing them from thieves and as a way of having them on hand when hard times came.It was a fairly common custom, during older days when money was extremely hard to come by and Banks were nonexistant. I may be wrong but I do doubt that there were many folks flaunting their Barber Halves on necklaces. Though there are always exceptions . I have several of the older coins I have found that have holes in them and to me the story they could tell makes them Priceless and no value could ever be put on them. HH.

 

[fenian13]

Thanks for the info. That is quite possible. It had a small ring through the hole that I assumed was for a chain (necklace) But that does not mean that the hole was made to create a pendant. Sewing valuables into clothing makes sense. It was found in a schoolyard 3 inches down.

 

[fenian13]

The clue to it possibly being for a pendant may lie in the fact that the hole is through the "w" in "in god we trust". Placed there the coin would hang with the intention of showing the face. The eagle would be upside down if hung and viewed from the opposite side. Plus, it was found with a ring attached. The mystery will remain regardless. Peace.

 

[fowlercharles]

make for a good indication that the hole was made for wearing as a pendant! I would have to say that it has always amazed me as to all the random places that holes were placed in all the old coins I have found. It sure didn't seem to matter and as far as I can tell folks just placed the hole where ever the punch happened to fall, and on no particular side of the coin.It is cool to see how many folks just used a simple square nail for their punch too which is a great indicator of the period in time when the hole was punched.

 

[fenian13]

Interesting you should mention using a nail to punch the hole. I looked close and it looks more like it was drilled, I had been wondering if was punched or drilled.

 

[Canewrap]

Did you know that some coins were nailed to a cross beam or support post for good luck?

 

[fowlercharles]

remember hearing or reading that probably 40 years ago and your mention of it is the first mention I have heard since then. LOL, That has been awhile. Along about the same time I heard that, I also heard that there was sometimes a coin placed in, or about the hearth whenever a house was built.That one always made me wonder about the silver coin that I found at the very edge of the cement and brick hearth of an old place way in the woods years later. The coin was Dime size and worn smooth on both sides. I always imagined maybe the Dime had been wedged between the bricks in some way and over many years to have been worn smooth by the constant movement of the chimney as it expanded and contracted from the heating and cooling of the chimney. Fact is, whatever wore it smooth, me finding it by the hearth sure made for some fun imaginings, and it did sorta back up the coin in the hearth theory!

 

[fenian13]

Made a mistake. It's an 1894, not 1896. Does not change things much though. The coin is well worn. A 4 out of 10 perhaps. When you mention thin coins I've got a 1917 merc that gives truth to the statement "one thin dime" It's about half its original thickness. It is worn so far in from the outside you can only see the top bar on the "7" and the edges have been worn smooth it has no ridges left!

 

[JB(MS)]

An old guy, now deceased, told me when he was a child in the early 1900's that a lot of country folks punched holes in the coins and ran a string through them so they wouldn't be lost. I've found a lot of single coins, most of them at old homesites, with holes in them but a hunting buddy and I were detecting at an old church site about 20 years ago and he found a coin spill of five coins, a Barber dime, three indian head pennies and a V nickel, and all of them had holes in them. It's possible the old guy was right and all five of the coins were on a string and lost at the same time, at least that would explain why that many coins with holes in them were found in the same hole.

 

[fenian13]

Found some good reading on-line. It was once considered good luck for a newly married couple to nail a coin over the headboard. Also it was a known habit to string coins before banks. Civil war soldiers sometimes did so as well. The only clues I have are those I told of. I never doubted the practice in general. this coin has much wear, but if you look close at one side of the hole you can see a burr around it. just like a drill leaves in relatively soft metal. the edges of the hole are still a bit unworn. It is possible that it was once holed for safekeeping and later attached to a necklace. on the other hand the hole is wider on one side than the other, a possible indication of being punched, maybe the small burr is all that is left from the larger burr a punch would have created. maybe the large burr has worn down. I am still uncertain. I kind of like the mystery. thanks for all the great feedback. I did see on-line that one source estimates only 3000 1894 barber halves exist. Still worth more as a conversation piece though. in the shape it's in without the hole it's only worth around $30.