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Reeding is the type of textured or grooved edges on some coins. U.S. dimes and quarters are reeded, but cents and nickels are not. The reason some coins have reeding is because when coins were made of precious metals like gold and silver, sometimes people would shave off a little of the coin to keep for themselves, to collect and sell at another time. By adding reeds, coins couldn't be altered without noticeable marks.
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What is reeding on a coin?
"Reeding" is the special term used to describe the ridges found on the edges of many coins. Reeding was originally used on coins containing precious metals like gold or silver to make if obvious if anyone had "scraped" a coin. Scraping is the illegal practice of using a sharp instrument to remove a tiny amount of metal from the edge of a coin. Individually, each coin only loses a small amount of metal but a criminal could accumulate a significant amount of metal by scraping large quantities of coins. Today, many countries use reeding or variations of it to make it easier for people with limited vision to identify coins by touch. For example, in the EU some euro coins have close reeding (i.e. a lot of thin ridges), others have wide reeding (a smaller number of thicker ridges), and still others have interrupted reeding (alternating patterns of smooth and reeded portions)
What is a reeded edge?
"Reeding" is the series of vertical grooves on a coin's edge. Originally reeding was used on gold and silver coins to make it easier to detect shaving, the practice of removing small amounts of precious metal from a coin's edges. Without reeding, it would be much easier to disguise the removal of tiny amounts of metal from the edge of a coin. If a crook shaved enough coins they could make a significant amount of money by selling the accumulated gold and silver bits. Today reeding and other edge designs are often used to make it easier for people with limited vision to distinguish similar-sized coins. For example, several euro coins are similar in size but each one has a distinct edge - narrow reeds, thick reeds, a groove, partial reeding, etc. - so they're easily distinguished by feel.
Why are the edges of some coins notched?
The actual term is "reeded" rather than "notched". Reeded edges prevent thieves from clipping coins. That is shaving metal metal off the edges. Dimes, quarters, half-dollars, and dollar coins all were made of silver until 1964. Pennies and nickels do not have precious metal in their mix. The US continued to use reeding on the edges of dimes, quarters, and half dollars even though they were changed to copper-nickel in the 1960s and 1970s. The $1 coins introduced in 2000 are also made of non-precious metals, and have smooth edges to help differentiate them from the other denominations. Many countries now use variations of standard reeding to help make their coins distinguishable by touch as well as sight, especially if they're similar in size. For example some euro coins have wide reeding, others have very narrow reeding, and still others have what's called "interrupted" reeding with interspersed smooth spaces.
Who invented coin edging or reeding?
Coin edging, or reeding, was first introduced by the British in the late 17th century to prevent counterfeiting and to deter the clipping of coins. The practice is often credited to Sir Isaac Newton, who was appointed as the Master of the Royal Mint in 1699. He implemented various reforms in coin production, including the introduction of reeded edges on coins to enhance their security and integrity.
How many grooves does a dime have?
See the U.S. Mint link below for specs on most current coins FWIW, the technical term for the grooves is "reeding" or "reeds"
Does a milled coins have ridges?
Yes - the ridges are called milling, or reeding.
What is reeding on a coin?
"Reeding" is the special term used to describe the ridges found on the edges of many coins. Reeding was originally used on coins containing precious metals like gold or silver to make if obvious if anyone had "scraped" a coin. Scraping is the illegal practice of using a sharp instrument to remove a tiny amount of metal from the edge of a coin. Individually, each coin only loses a small amount of metal but a criminal could accumulate a significant amount of metal by scraping large quantities of coins. Today, many countries use reeding or variations of it to make it easier for people with limited vision to identify coins by touch. For example, in the EU some euro coins have close reeding (i.e. a lot of thin ridges), others have wide reeding (a smaller number of thicker ridges), and still others have interrupted reeding (alternating patterns of smooth and reeded portions)
When did coin reeding first start?
Reeding the edges of coins began to prevent "shaving". Early coins were made from gold and silver and the grooves were added to stop people from filing down the edges to recover the precious metals. Reeded coins go as far back as the 1820's.
What is a reeded edge?
"Reeding" is the series of vertical grooves on a coin's edge. Originally reeding was used on gold and silver coins to make it easier to detect shaving, the practice of removing small amounts of precious metal from a coin's edges. Without reeding, it would be much easier to disguise the removal of tiny amounts of metal from the edge of a coin. If a crook shaved enough coins they could make a significant amount of money by selling the accumulated gold and silver bits. Today reeding and other edge designs are often used to make it easier for people with limited vision to distinguish similar-sized coins. For example, several euro coins are similar in size but each one has a distinct edge - narrow reeds, thick reeds, a groove, partial reeding, etc. - so they're easily distinguished by feel.
Why are the edges of some coins notched?
The actual term is "reeded" rather than "notched". Reeded edges prevent thieves from clipping coins. That is shaving metal metal off the edges. Dimes, quarters, half-dollars, and dollar coins all were made of silver until 1964. Pennies and nickels do not have precious metal in their mix. The US continued to use reeding on the edges of dimes, quarters, and half dollars even though they were changed to copper-nickel in the 1960s and 1970s. The $1 coins introduced in 2000 are also made of non-precious metals, and have smooth edges to help differentiate them from the other denominations. Many countries now use variations of standard reeding to help make their coins distinguishable by touch as well as sight, especially if they're similar in size. For example some euro coins have wide reeding, others have very narrow reeding, and still others have what's called "interrupted" reeding with interspersed smooth spaces.
Why are there grooves on a quarter?
The grooves are called "reeding" and are a holdover from the days when coins were made of silver. Before reeding was introduced, criminals would scrape the edges of silver coins, removing a small amount of metal from each one until they accumulated enough to sell, a practice called shaving. Edges were reeded to make it easier to detect when a coin had been shaved. Today many countries, but not the US, use distinctive patterns of reeding on the edges of their coins to make them distinguishable by touch which helps people with visual impairments.
Why are some coins rifled?
The term for grooves on a coin's edge is reeding.Reeding was introduced to stop the practice of "shaving" coins back when they contained silver or gold. Crooks would use a knife or file to remove small amounts of metal from the edges of a lot of coins and then sell the shavings at a profit. If the edge is smooth it is much harder to detect shaving, so reeds were put on the edges to make it more obvious when someone had tampered with a coin.Today reeding isn't needed to prevent shaving, but it has become useful as a way for people who are blind to tell the difference between coins with similar diameters. For example, dimes and cents are almost alike in size but cents have smooth edges; same thing for quarters and dollars. Regarding euro, which has 8 regularly-circulating coins, unusual patterns are used to distinguish among coins that are otherwise essentially the same size. 50-eurocent coins have coarse reeding, €2 coins have fine reeding and €1 coins have "interrupted" reeding; i.e. there are alternate patterns of smooth and grooved sections along the edge.
What coins have notched edges?
The actual term is "reeded" rather than "notched". Reeded edges were once used to prevent thieves from clipping coins, that is, shaving metal from the edges where it wouldn't be noticed. If you're referring to US coins, all former silver and gold coins had reeded edges to prevent clipping of those precious metals. Today dimes, quarters, and half dollars are reeded simply because their designs haven't been significantly changed since the days they were made of silver. The brass $1 coins introduced in 2000 are a new size and design, and have smooth edges to help differentiate them from the other denominations. Many countries now use variations of standard reeding to help make their coins distinguishable by touch as well as sight, especially if they're similar in size. For example some euro coins have wide reeding, others have very narrow reeding, and still others have what's called "interrupted" reeding with interspersed smooth spaces.
What are the notches on the nickel and on other coins?
The technical name for "notches" on the edge of a coin is reeding, but neither US nor Canadian nickels have reeded edges.When coins contained precious metals like silver and gold, they were reeded to prevent people from shaving them. Before reeding was introduced crooks would use a knife or file to remove a small amount of metal from the edge, where it wasn't easily noticed. By shaving a large number of coins they could make a reasonable profit from reselling the metal. The addition of reeding made it obvious when coins were being shaved and were a flag to law-enforcement authorities.Even though modern coins aren't made of precious metals many continue to be reeded, either out of tradition or to help people with limited vision identify coins by touch. For example, European coins use narrow reeds, wide reeds, and partial reeds to make similar-size coins readily distinguishable.
Why vertical lines in coin peripherally?
In the old days coins were made of precious metals. Unscrupulous people could clip or shave the edges and, if done carefully, this would not be visible to the naked eye. The reeding [vertical lines] was intended to prevent that. Nowadays reeding is used primarily to make counterfeiting more expensive and also to help people distinguish between coins of similar size.
Why are some US coins smooth and others with ridges?
Those ridges date back to when some U.S. coins were made of silver or gold. Without reeding (the ridges), it would be easy for someone to scrape off shavings of the metal to keep, and then the coin wouldn't contain its full value of metal content. Cents and nickels were of such low value and lacking precious metals that reeding was unnecessary.
Who invented coin edging or reeding?
Coin edging, or reeding, was first introduced by the British in the late 17th century to prevent counterfeiting and to deter the clipping of coins. The practice is often credited to Sir Isaac Newton, who was appointed as the Master of the Royal Mint in 1699. He implemented various reforms in coin production, including the introduction of reeded edges on coins to enhance their security and integrity.
