You’re standing at a train station in Tokyo, or maybe a market in Copenhagen, and you look down at the change in your palm. There it is. A small, metallic donut. It feels weirdly light. If you’re used to the solid, heavy slugs of the US Quarter or the British Pound, a coin with hole in center feels like a mistake. Like the mint forgot to finish the job.
Honestly, it’s not a mistake. It’s a design choice that has survived thousands of years of economic shifts, world wars, and the rise of digital banking.
People always ask me if these are just for "decoration." They aren't. While your local vending machine might spit them out if they aren't the right weight, these holed coins—formally called "annular coins"—are some of the most practical tools in the history of currency. From the ancient "Cash" coins of the Han Dynasty to the modern 5-yen piece that tourists love to keep as souvenirs, the hole serves a purpose. Multiple purposes, actually.
Why Put a Hole in Money?
The most common reason is shockingly simple: convenience. Before we had zippers, leather tri-fold wallets, or Apple Pay, people had to carry their wealth physically. If you were a merchant in 4th-century China, you weren't carrying three or four coins. You were carrying hundreds.
How do you keep five hundred copper coins from rolling into the gutter? You string them together. By running a cord through a coin with hole in center, you create a "string of cash." You could wear your net worth around your neck or waist. It was the original "wearable tech," just without the screen.
But it isn't just about stringing them up.
Mints love these designs because they save money. Think about the math. If you punch a 5mm hole out of the center of a 20mm coin, you’re saving a significant percentage of raw material—copper, nickel, or tin—on every single unit. When you’re minting millions of coins, those tiny circles of "waste" add up to tons of metal that can be melted down and used for the next batch. It’s efficient. It's smart. It’s basically the ultimate recycling loop within a factory setting.
Blindness and the Tactile Economy
We often forget that money has to be accessible. For a person with a visual impairment, a pocket full of similar-sized metal discs is a nightmare. This is where the coin with hole in center truly shines as a feat of functional design.
Take the Danish Krone or the Japanese Yen. In Japan, the 5-yen and 50-yen coins have holes, while the 1-yen, 10-yen, 100-yen, and 500-yen coins are solid. If you’re reaching into your pocket in the dark, you don't need to see the "50" stamped on the face. You feel the hole. You instantly know what you’re holding.
It’s a low-tech solution to a universal problem.
I've talked to numismatists (coin experts) who point out that during times of high inflation or war, the hole became a sign of "cheapness." In some cases, like the French 25-centime coins from the early 20th century, the hole was added specifically so people wouldn't confuse the new, cheaper base-metal coins with the older, more valuable silver ones of a similar size. It was a visual and tactile "red flag" saying: This isn't silver. Don't get fooled.
The Mystery of the Square Hole
If you look at ancient Chinese coins, the hole isn't round. It’s square.
Why? Because of the manufacturing process.
Ancient coins weren't struck with a die like they are today; they were cast in molds. When they came out of the mold, they had rough edges. Workers would slide dozens of these coins onto a long, square wooden rod. Because the rod was square, the coins couldn't spin. This allowed the worker to file down the outer edges of hundreds of coins at once, ensuring they were all perfectly round and smooth.
If the hole had been round, the coins would have just spun around the rod while the worker tried to sand them. The square hole was basically a mechanical lock.
Modern Survivors: Who Still Uses Them?
You won't find many of these in the Americas, but they are alive and well elsewhere.
- Japan: The 5-yen (Go-en) is considered lucky because the word "Go-en" sounds like the word for "honorary relationship" or "fate." People often tie them to shrines.
- Denmark: The 1, 2, and 5 Krone coins all feature holes. They look incredibly modern and minimalist, very "Scandi-cool."
- Norway: Similar to Denmark, the 1 and 5 Krone coins keep the tradition alive.
- Papua New Guinea: The 1 Kina coin features a large hole and depicts a saltwater crocodile. It’s widely considered one of the coolest-looking coins in circulation.
The Collector's Trap
Be careful if you’re looking to buy "rare" holed coins online. There’s a big difference between a coin minted with a hole and a "holed coin."
👉 See also: Savin Bar and Grill Boston: What Most People Get Wrong
A "holed coin" usually refers to a regular coin that someone took a drill to. People did this for centuries to make jewelry, or more often, to sew money into the lining of their clothes to prevent theft while traveling. In the coin collecting world, a hole drilled by a person usually ruins the value. It’s considered "damaged."
However, if the coin with hole in center was made that way at the mint, it’s a different story. Some of these are worth thousands. For instance, certain patterns of the 1792 "Silver Center Cent" in the US (which used a plug of silver rather than a hole, but followed similar logic) are the "Holy Grails" of collecting.
Identifying Your Mystery Coin
If you found a coin with a hole and you don't know where it's from, look at the edges.
Is the hole perfectly centered and smooth? It’s probably official currency. Is the hole slightly off-center with "burrs" or sharp bits of metal? Someone probably made a necklace out of it in their garage.
Check for symbols. If you see a chrysanthemum, it’s likely Japanese. If you see a crown and a stylized "R" or "H," look toward Scandinavia.
What You Should Do Next
If you’ve stumbled upon a coin with hole in center, don't just toss it in a jar.
- Check the Metal: If it's grayish and light, it might be aluminum (common in post-war emergency coinage). If it's heavy and yellowish, it’s likely a brass or bronze alloy.
- Verify the Origin: Use a site like Numista. You can filter by "hole" and "shape" to find the exact year and mintage.
- Appreciate the History: Remember that this design isn't a gimmick. It’s a 2,000-year-old solution to the problem of carrying, manufacturing, and identifying money without the help of modern technology.
Keep a few in your travel bag. They make great conversation starters, and in places like Japan, giving a 5-yen coin as a gift is a genuine gesture of good luck and future connection.
📖 Related: Mike Penny Truth Seekers 88: Why This Digital Community Still Matters
Actually, just holding one tells you a lot about how humans have handled "value" for millennia. We like things that are easy to carry, hard to fake, and simple to understand. Sometimes, the best way to add value is to take something away—like the middle of a coin.
To identify a specific coin in your possession, look for the year of mintage and any non-Latin characters. Most holed coins from the 20th century onwards are made of cupro-nickel or bronze, but older specimens from the 1800s may contain silver or even holed gold, though these are exceptionally rare. Start by cross-referencing the diameter of your coin with the standard specifications found in the Krause Standard Catalog of World Coins to confirm its authenticity.