Coin chat: lucky coins

9 posts
Lately, I've become interested in lucky coins. Most people nowadays probably don't use coins for luck, but I still find the old custom entertaining. I have even carried around a Buffalo nickel and a two dollar bill in my wallet. I am normally not superstitious except for this one irrational habit.

In my bit of research, I found that the real lucky American coin is the Mercury dime, especially ones with leap year dates, such as 1916, 1920, 1924 and so forth. The 1916-D Mercury must be the luckiest one of all. If I had that coin, though, I probably wouldn't carry it around in my wallet. The Mercury dime also was carried a round by gamblers, because Mercury was the Roman god who ruled over crossroads and games of chance. People even wore holed Mercury dimes around their ankles for luck. It didn't seem to matter to people that this dime actually had a motif of winged Liberty instead of Mercury.     

The use of lucky coins, or touch pieces, dates back to at least ancient Rome. They were used in the belief that they would bring luck, cure diseases, influence people's behavior or even ward off evil. The earliest known use of touch pieces was during the reign of Vespasian in ancient Rome when coins were passed out to the sick in a ceremony called the touching.  Hence the name touch piece. Lucky cash coins were also used in China. China was the one of the earliest countries to use holed coins, which were hung on string to keep track of them. To this day holed cash coins are considered lucky. Also, holed coins are considered luck charms in various other countries.

Later, during the Middle Ages, coins were given out to the poor during holy communion to cure arthritis. The coin was often  punched through and worn around the neck. More recent lucky coins include the famed British six pence, which was given out for luck to a new bride. And, as the British would have it, there is even a little poem that goes along with it.  Malta's lucky coin is the 1 cent with a cross on it; Russia's is the dragon kopek; in Germany it's the oak leaf 10 pfennig; and even Andorra has a lucky one centime adorned with an angel. Lithuania also has an angel on its 5 cent lucky coin.       

In India, the 2 rupee elephant motif coin is considered lucky. Many coins with animals depicted on them are considered lucky. Coins with rhinos, roosters, bulls, rabbits are among the lucky animal coins from various countries.

There are also bad luck coins and love tokens, but that is another topic I suppose.

I guess the main thing I take away from all this is that I will look through my mercury dimes to see if I have one with a leap year date to put in my wallet. So either way, lucky coin or not, at least I'll always have two dollars and ten cents in my wallet.          

     
I keep 1 dollar coin in one of my personal document case, like a large wallet but bigger... along with multiple banknotes from different places which I normally travel too.

The reason I keep it is because I think one day I will need just one dollar to get out of a difficult situation ;)

So far I never have to used but he is waiting there for that specific time and task!

I do remember back in Venezuela they use Silver Medios (25 Centimos) for something like engagement or wedding ceremony, If I am not wrong the use 11 in total...

I believe many countries will have similar customs with their currency, it will be nice to hear from everyone.
JustforFun...
I always carry a 5 Centavos coin in ny wallet in a plastic square which also has a picture of me when I was 5  (8
Numista referee for the "Viceroyalty of the New Spain" (most of it).
History through coins.
Eli V
A chemically-damaged 1 koruna ceska found in common circulation in Pardubice, where I lived for a few months, I finally kept this colour oddity and finally kept it as a lucky one.
Administrateur du catalogue, référent de nombreuses nations antiques et de la Lorraine.
Catalogue administrator, numerous Antique nations and Lorraine referee.
Okay now I understand why I am so lucky! I have over 2000 lucky coins and notes in my binders!

Well, I have also heard that used coins can carry bad energy with them...
I've heard that the sound of coins clanging "scares off the ghosts" and "bad spirits"
Some years ago a colleague brought from his trip to Bolivia a glove with a lot of coins attached to it. Him was told that it was a custom to attach a lot of coins on the gloves for babies/children to bring good luck/scare bad spirits. It looks like something kolikko99 stated in the previous post.
All the coins were https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces3221.html so it was probably a custom a century ago and that was a "lucky coin".
For me it wasn't such a "lucky coin" because all these coins had a hole in it to make it possible to attach it to the glove. And these holes were not drilled but punched so most of those coins were not only damaged with a hole but are also crooked.
But what can I say, at least it are coins with a story behind.
This is the lucky coin I keep in my wallet at all times.
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces3232.html
Only Romanians can figure out why tho.

Oh and I also have a small silver Swedish coin. Just in case of werewolves or vampires.
This coin is offered during weddings in Tunisia, it's a "traditional" custom.

https://fr.numista.com/catalogue/pieces1203.html
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