Piercing a Nickel with a Needle. "Magical Experiments or Science in Play" by Arthur Good. David McKay, (1894).

Insert a needle in a cork, so that the point be just apparent, and, if the needle project at the other end, snap off the remainder of it with a pair of shears. Now place your nickel on a couple of wooden blocks, as in the illustration, and strike a sharp blow with a heavy hammer on the prepared cork that you have placed above it.

Done