Korea 5 Fun 504 with Central Hole

7 posts
Is there an official reason that this coin has a large hole in it?

It appears to be KM 1108. The coin is about 28mm and weighs 5.8 grams. The coin is supposed to be copper, and this looks somewhat brassy, but that could be due to being buried and then cleaned.

Here is the similar Numista listing:

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces15828.html

Here are our photos:

http://www.elfreeman2.com/10/kor02o.jpg

http://www.elfreeman2.com/10/kor02r.jpg
This coin type does not have a hole in it; therefore the hole is PMD.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washer_(hardware)#/media/File:Washers.agr.jpg

Old Belgian coins were used also this way.
Non est totum quod splendet ut aurum
Rijkdom bestaat niet uit het hebben van veel bezittingen, maar in het hebben van weinig behoeften
I did not want dismiss it "out of hand" without following up on it.

Some countries have holed coins to cancel them, and some of the leper colonies were sent holed coins, so the patients could not escape with usable coinage.
Quote: "halfdisme"​Some countries have holed coins to cancel them, and some of the leper colonies were sent holed coins, so the patients could not escape with usable coinage.

​That is indeed information I never thought about!!!
Non est totum quod splendet ut aurum
Rijkdom bestaat niet uit het hebben van veel bezittingen, maar in het hebben van weinig behoeften
Quote: "halfdisme"​I did not want dismiss it "out of hand" without following up on it.

​Some countries have holed coins to cancel them, and some of the leper colonies were sent holed coins, so the patients could not escape with usable coinage.
​Good thinking, but 95% (if not more) of PMD holed coins are going to likely be holed for no other reason than artistic reasons (e.g. necklace, belly dancing costume, etc.). So unless it's a type that can be traced back to a specific confirmed source with a number of other proven examples, I think it can be safely dismissed as just the work of an artist.

The leper coin stuff is fascinating, never thought about that either!
There is an interesting book on the subject: "The Numismatic Aspects of Leprosy: Money, Medals, and Miscellaneous" by McFadden, Grost and Marr. Costa Rica, in particular, holed regular coins for use in the leper colony.

(Funny story about that book: At the 2006 National Money Show in Dallas, I exhibited some leper colony coins, and had the book in the display case. As I was taking down the exhibit, at the end of the show, the owner of the exhibit next to me asked, "Do you want me to autograph your book?" It was John Grost, and he added a nice comment with his autograph.)

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