Coins with Holes: Love Tokens or Survival Money

A holed coin isn’t always “damage.” In many cases, it’s a deliberate act that tells a surprisingly specific historical story.

Love Tokens

A love token is something exchanged between lovers – either for courtship, or before a longer absence, such as wartime separations and long sea voyages. Many of these tokens were made from lower-denomination silver coins – a hole drilled into it so it could be worn on a chain, and sometimes one side was carefully rubbed smooth and engraved with the loved one’s initials, a date or a symbol.

These love tokens were popular from the late 1700s through the early 1900s, especially in Britain, France, Germany, United States and of course British colonies, including Canada, and were often exchanged between working-class couples, by sailors and soldiers, for whom formal jewelry was too expensive. A coin already had value, and engraving it transformed it into something personal and permanent.

There are other reasons coins could have been used as charms or keepsakes as well, such as religious pilgrimages.

Survival Money

Another reason why a coin may have a hole would be to sew it into clothing. This was a widespread survival habit from the 1600s through the late 1800s. In Canada, some holed coins are linked to the fur trade era (roughly 1670s–1850s), although not all come from that period.

The purpose was practical: to prevent loss of the money while traveling, and to hide it from theft. The coins could be tied or stitched to coat hems, hat linings, boots and belts.

This was a documented practice among sailors, soldiers, fur traders, migrants, pioneers and frontier families, and Indigenous trading partners.

How to Tell Why a Coin Was Holed

In order to find out whether your holed coin was likely a love token or fur trader currency, the date on the coin might give us a clue – but the coin’s physical properties are even more important.

• Hole placement: If the hole is neatly centered at the top, it’s more likely to be jewelry. If it is in a random corner, there is a good chance that it was sewn into cloth or tied to a string.
• Hole wear: smooth, rounded edges indicate long-term wear on a cord or chain (jewelry).
• Type of coin: silver coins are more often love tokens, while copper coins and trade tokens suggest trade usage.

Final Thoughts for Collectors

Many collectors and catalogues downgrade coins that have holes, even if old, because the alteration is technically damage to the original strike. But for others, the added history of a holed coin adds unique value.

As always, we’ll check how the coin has aged in general: Is the design still clear? Is the date readable? Does the surface otherwise look natural, or tampered with?

A holed coin that has aged honestly can be far more interesting than a perfect one that has never left a drawer.

~

We come across love tokens and other holed coins from time to time. If you’re interested in diving more deeply into their fascinating history, keep an eye on our eBay profile for new listings every week.