Real or copy...it's of European fabric for sure. With a three pointed crown and pellets around the circumference, it's European. (I'm guessing Irish/Catholic...slight chance of French involvement in design.....most likely not?)
I'm a professional coin dealer who's around this a lot and even though I've never seen this coin, it screams Celtic in nature due to the style of lettering. Add to that a three pointed "Papal style" crown, strong Irish population here in America.....I'm thinking it was used as clothing decoration with more, or single sewn on and lost. It looks real too?
Cool things about holed coins:
1. Early America had a tradition of nailing a coin (inside and above a front door) to bless all who entered and left their home with prosperity. Silver and even gold were used in more well off homes.
2. Coins were converted to "token use" for tallying shipping and people movement along canals,early railroads, and toll pikes. Holes would be drilled in the coins and strung on "cat gut" cords for ease of the transaction. Coins with hole/missing silver content would help insure that "intrinsic currency" would stay close to facilitate transaction and not carried off....more difficult to spend (and be treated fairly) away from this commerce.
3. Assembly identification. All it took was a look at a coin sewn on to a persons clothing to see which group they belonged to.
4. Ceremonial and jewelry use.
I bet if you posted this picture on a UK site, identification would come fast!
