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Gallery of Holed Coins - First Century Roman

My holed ancient coins page gives an overview of different types of holed coins. These are my holed coin galleries:

Hellenic Coins — Roman Republican and Augustan Coins — First Century Roman Coins (this page) — Second Century Roman Coins — Third Century Roman Coins — Fourth Century Roman Coins — Fifth Century Roman Coins — Byzantine or Romaion Coins of Later Centuries — Other Holed Coins of Varying Origins and Times

Holed as of Tiberius with a winged caduceus reverse. Copper as of Tiberius from Rome,
35 or 36 CE.
26 x 28mm across,
11.04 grammes.		 An as of Tiberius with a reverse showing a winged caduceus. It's been pierced from the portrait side, so was probably intended to display that. The hole is quite small and fine, unlike most of these examples, so it might be much more recent than the date of minting of the coin.
Bronze Roman colonial AE26 Copper provincial coin from Colonia Augusta Aroe Patrensis,
14-37 CE.
27 by 24mm,
9.1 grammes.		 This interesting coin was struck at Patras in Greece during Tiberius' reign. It commemorates the divine Augustus on one side, and on the other, his founding of a colony after the battle of Actium as a place for his legionary veterans to settle. The founder carries a measuring rod and the legion's flag, and is behind a plough drawn by two oxen. The hole is rather small to allow a string (or wire loop) strong enough to hang it round someone's neck, and it shows a different pattern of wear from the "moon and stars" denarius at the bottom of the 2nd century section. I think that someone in the colony has pierced it to display the founding scene, and perhaps nailed it up on their lintel, and touched it regularly for luck. Very interesting, very full of history, and it tells a personal story too.
Holed as, perhaps of Augustus, with two countermarks of Tiberius. Copper as, perhaps of Augustus, countermarked under Tiberius,
14-37 CE.
23mm by 26mm across,
7.43 grammes.		 Highlighted countermarks of Tiberius on a barbarous as This coin has been worn completely smooth. So what is it doing here, you might wonder? The answer is in those two rectangular indentations on the obverse, which are countermarks placed during the reign of Tiberius. Careful examination shows that they are AVG and TI•CÆ, as shown on the right. These marks tend to be found in the Balkans and the base coin is probably an eastern as of Augustus, or maybe a local barbarous imitation. Countermarks like this were used to authorise worn or barbarous coins for use as official currency.
Was the hole made before or after the coin was countermarked? Coin, hole and countermarks are now all so worn that is not possible to tell.
Holed as of Caligula showing his grandfather Agrippa. Copper as showing Agrippa,
37-41 CE.
29mm x 30mm across,
10.31 grammes.		 This coin was struck by the emperor Gaius, known to us as Caligula, and the stern face on the obverse is his grandfather, Agrippa, a successful general who won the battle of Actium for Augustus. It has an unusual rectangular hole, which has been punched through from the obverse. I do not know why the hole is this shape, what tool was used, or what it was for. Perhaps it was just a punch which happened to be available.
Holed as of Caligula with a Vesta reverse. Copper as of Caligula from Rome,
37 or 38 CE.
29mm across,
11.2 grammes.		 The image on this coin is Caligula himself. The coin has been pierced in a way that shows off the representation of Vesta on the reverse, but the hole is very close to her head and goes right through her name. Was it done by someone to whom Vesta was important? I can't be sure. The hole is rather crudely done, it goes through at a slight angle, and seems to have been worked at from both sides. The Vesta side is slightly worn, so might have been touched a lot. Whatever the truth, it has left me with a nice portrait of Gaius (a.k.a. Caligula), which would otherwise have been much more costly.
Holed as of Caligula with a Vesta reverse. Copper as of Caligula from Rome,
37 or 38 CE.
29mm across,
11.26 grammes.		 Another example of the same coin, this time holed very firmly right in the middle, and certainly to show off Vesta, given that the emperor's head has been seriously defaced by the hole. This one was probably nailed or riveted to something as a decoration, perhaps in a shrine to Vesta.
Dupondius of Antonia Brass dupondius of Antonia,
41-42 CE.
29mm across,
11.22 grammes.		 This shiny coin is a brass dupondius of Antonia, mother of the emperor Claudius, struck by him after her death. The hole in this coin was hammered through against a flat surface, and it may be that the coin was nailed up somewhere, perhaps in a shrine.
This coin is countermarked with the letters "NCAPR," which might refer to either Nero or Galba; opinions are divided. The coin must have been worn in antiquity to require a countermark, and the hole was made after that, so, given the availability of better-looking coins in Rome, the hole might have been made far away or later in time (or both).
Orichalcum dupondius of Nero Orichalcum dupondius of Nero,
64 CE.
30mm across,
13.53 grammes.		 On this coin, Nero looks a little bit chubby but not seriously out of condition. The coin has a thick green patina, some of which can be seen inside the hole, which is evidence that the hole was made in antiquity. Or at least long enough ago for that patina to develop.
Portrait as of Galba Copper as of Galba,
68-69 CE.
27mm across,
9.6 grammes.		 Here's another hard-to-get portrait, and this one has definitely been made into a keepsake of the Emperor. Galba revolted against Nero, and after Nero's suicide, raced from Spain to claim the vacant position. He was soon executed by Otho, who had not received the reward Galba had promised him for his aid in the rebellion.
Like the coin of Gaius "Caligula" above, the reverse of this one shows Vesta. This time she is holding the Palladium, which is a statuette of Athena on a stick, supposed to have been brought from Troy by Aeneas.
Holed denarius of Divus Vespasian with two capricorns on the reverse Silver denarius of Divus Vespasian,
80-81 CE.
19mm across,
2.73 grammes.		 This denarius was issued by Titus in honour of his deceased father, the emperor Vespasian, after he was raised to godly status. The reverse shows two capricorns, back-to-back. This has the potential to be a lucky astrological charm. But this coin has been holed from the side showing the emperor's head and the hole goes right through one goat. It is therefore likely to have been worn as a memento of the deified ex-emperor, perhaps as part of the worship he would have been offered in the Imperial Cult.
Copper quadrans of Domitian Copper quadrans of Domitian,
81-82 CE.
16mm across,
2.41 grammes.		 These small coins are much sought after these days, especially if they're in good condition. This one is very sharp and in high relief. Even with a hole, a desirable coin in this nice condition can be expensive, so you need to watch for opportunities.
Unlike almost all other imperial coins, quadrantes didn't show the emperor on the obverse. This one shows a helmeted Minerva. Domitian was keen to link himself with the warlike properties and wisdom of Minerva, and often showed her on denarii as well.
Silver denarius of Domitian Silver denarius of Domitian,
88 CE.
16 x 18mm,
3.19 grammes.		 A silver denarius, one of the many produced to commemmorate the Saecular Games held in Autumn of 88 A.D. The reverse shows a herald announcing these important games, which were supposed to be held only once every hundred years.
Like many of the Flavian denarii, this one has a striking portrait of the Emperor, and that is clearly what was on display.
Bronze obol of Domitian Bronze obol of Domitian,
91-92 CE.
23 x 24mm,
6.04 grammes.		 A bronze coin from Alexandria, where the images on the coins were often Hellenised versions of Egyptian dieties and symbols. This surrealistic coin shows the serpent Agathodaemon, a spirit of vineyards and grain fields, wearing the double crown of Egypt and riding a galloping horse. The obverse of the coin has a rather good portrait of Domitian. It's a pity that the coin has a lot of hard, opaque encrustation, but the main details are all clear.
Denarius of nerva Silver denarius of Nerva,
97 CE.
15 x 18mm,
2.8 grammes.		 Another rarish portrait. This is Nerva, with a Concordia Exercitum reverse. Nerva was very worried about the loyalty of the army, and if he hadn't adopted as his heir the popular general Marcus Ulpius Traianus, he might have had a real problem. Several of his coins reflected this concern.
This coin has been deeply scored on both sides around the area of the hole. The marks carefully avoid both the portrait on the obverse and the clasped hands on the reverse, and it looks as though this might even have been a first crude attempt to chop a hole though the metal.
Bronze coin of Trajan from Antioch on the Orontes Bronze AE26 of Trajan,
96-117 CE.
25 x 26mm,
10.8 grammes.		 This coin is typical of Antioch on the Orontes, with its large "S C" in a laurel wreath. The very neat hole has been placed to show Trajan's bust.

Hellenic Coins — Roman Republican and Augustan Coins — First Century Roman Coins (this page) — Second Century Roman Coins — Third Century Roman Coins — Fourth Century Roman Coins — Fifth Century Roman Coins — Byzantine or Romaion Coins of Later Centuries — Other Holed Coins of Varying Origins and Times

The content of this page was last updated on 18 June 2011.
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