When it comes to damage on a coin, a hole can be about as bad as it gets, and the term “plugged” is used when a once-holed coin is repaired.

For some rare coins, a holed coin provides a valid entry point for a collector, like this 1659 Lord Baltimore fourpence “groat” graded Extremely Fine Details, Holed, Environmental Damage by Numismatic Guaranty Co. A rare type, it sold for $4,080 at a May 4 Heritage auction.

Heritage wrote, “The reverse has ideal centering, while the obverse is a few degrees misaligned toward 4:30,” recognizing, “a 2 mm round hole through the right obverse field allows immediate identification.”

The Maryland Lord Baltimore coins are among the earliest listed in the “Red Book,” which observes, “Many of these coins are found holed and repaired.”

These were issued on a small scale and enjoyed some circulation in Maryland for several decades.

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