1805 Draped Bust w/chop mark?

[Cape Hunter]

Found a homesite that I just started digging and this US one cent turned up. Needs better cleaning. What's interesting is it appears to have a square chop mark in the center of the coin. I have never found any early coppers with chop marks. You can see the result of the chop on the back side as well which is round. Anyone come across coppers with chop marks? I will post other items from the site soon.

 

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[pepperj]

Found a homesite that I just started digging and this US one cent turned up. Needs better cleaning. What's interesting is it appears to have a square chop mark in the center of the coin. I have never found any early coppers with chop marks. You can see the result of the chop on the back side as well which is round. Anyone come across coppers with chop marks? I will post other items from the site soon.

Nice recovery on the copper.
I wonder if someone tried to hole it, and they didn't complete the task.

 

[Cape Hunter]

Nice recovery on the copper.
I wonder if someone tried to hole it, and they didn't complete the task.

I have found copper coins with holes at the top. That's pretty common. But not in the center. This one is a first.

 

[E-Trac-Ohio]

Congrats on a great find !

Before I read the post above mine I was thinking the exact same thing.
Someone tried to "Hole" the coin and it didn't work out well for him.
Maybe he hit his hand with the Hammer and gave up

 

[E-Trac-Ohio]

I've found 2 or 3 Large Cents that have holes in the center.
Read somewhere that people would use them as Washer's in a pinch.
Even though the coins had a real value back then - it was probably easier than riding into town ?

 

[Silvermonkey]

Regardless the menaing of the chop mark, that's a great looking coin Cape Hunter. Congrats!

 

[Cape Hunter]

I've found 2 or 3 Large Cents that have holes in the center.
Read somewhere that people would use them as Washer's in a pinch.
Even though the coins had a real value back then - it was probably easier than riding into town ?

Well that's as good a answer as any. This one looks like someone may have tried to drive a nail through.

 

[pepperj]

I've found 2 or 3 Large Cents that have holes in the center.
Read somewhere that people would use them as Washer's in a pinch.
Even though the coins had a real value back then - it was probably easier than riding into town ?

Back in the day they repurposed the half penny and the large cents into a few different items.
Washers, whizzers, buttons.
I recovered these 2 laying next to each other from a cellar hole.
Not a perfect fit, but it probably would of done the job.

 

[JeffInMass]

Many possibilities for what happened, but that is an awesome DBLC reagrdless- Congrats neighbor!

 

[lenmac65]

That’s a nice old copper. I dug one with a similar hole on the obverse that did not go all the way through, though mine did not have the raised spot on the back like yours. Mint damage on our coins, I wonder? Interesting and a mystery. Congrats!

 

[Cape Hunter]

That’s a nice old copper. I dug one with a similar hole on the obverse that did not go all the way through, though mine did not have the raised spot on the back like yours. Mint damage on our coins, I wonder? Interesting and a mystery. Congrats!
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That's very interesting yours has the same size square hole. There must be another reason such as mint error possibly. Maybe more will turn up from this post. Glad you posted this one! Thanks

 

[Cape Hunter]

Many possibilities for what happened, but that is an awesome DBLC reagrdless- Congrats neighbor!

Thanks Jeff!!

 

[Fredneck]

Square nail, square hole. Nice find !

 

[jewelerguy]

I vote hole attempt with square nail. Still a really nice find

 

[NorILdigcollector]

I found a 1860 IHC a couple years ago with a square hole in the center. Looks like they tried to hole it with a square nail.

 

[CRUSADER]

Nice recovery on the copper.
I wonder if someone tried to hole it, and they didn't complete the task.

Agreed, looks like a square nail attempt.

 

[Gare]

you did GOOD

 

[Old Dude]

Cjon455 and I hunted an old farm here in Pa and the elderly homeowner was surprised when I showed him a LC I found in his front yard. He said his daughter had dug up several in a flower garden many years before and he had used them as washers on the farm because he didn’t know they were coins😋

 

[scruggs]

You gotta love those old coppers, nice find!

 

[Digger RJ]

Found a homesite that I just started digging and this US one cent turned up. Needs better cleaning. What's interesting is it appears to have a square chop mark in the center of the coin. I have never found any early coppers with chop marks. You can see the result of the chop on the back side as well which is round. Anyone come across coppers with chop marks? I will post other items from the site soon.

Very Cool!!! Congrats!!!