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Which Country's Coins Have Holes?

A hole in a coin may seem like a defect to Americans, but coins minted with holes can be found elsewhere in the world. Although most of these coins are out of circulation, a few are still used in day-to-day transactions. Hunting down coins with holes is a challenging venture because they are rare among the world's coinage. Knowing which country's mint (or minted) holed coins narrows down the search.

Ancient Holed Coins
- Many ancient coins we see today have holes in them. But it doesn't mean they were minted that way. In ancient societies (but also today), coins were worn as jewelry to show status. Many Roman and Greek coins contain drill holes where people attached them to a bracelet or necklace. The Chinese cast coins with square holes in the center, though. They used this format for millennia to come.
Obsolete Holed Coins in Europe
- In the 20th Century, several European nations minted holed coins. French five, 10, and 25 centime pieces were minted with holes for much of the first half of the 20th Century. Similarly, Belgium had holed coins between World War I and World War II.
Obsolete Holed Coins in Asia
- The Chinese used holed coins since the 6th Century B.C. People used the holes to string the coins together to create varying denominations. China gave up the holed coin in the early 20th Century. Vietnam and Japan copied this style of coin in their own countries.
Current Holed Coins
- The one kina coin of Papua New Guinea is a holed coin in use today. Denmark uses coins with holes; the one krone, as well as the two and five kroner pieces. The five sentimos coin of Philippines has a hole in the center and is made of copper-coated steel. The five and 50 yen coins of Japan are popular coins with holes. All of these are still in circulation.

Coin Collecting