A privy mark was originally a small mark or differentiation in the design of a

coin A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order ...

for the purpose of identifying the

mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaAE ...

moneyer A moneyer is a private individual who is officially permitted to mint money. Usually the rights to coin money are bestowed as a concession by a state or government. Moneyers have a long tradition, dating back at least to ancient Greece. They bec ...

, some other aspect of the coin's origin, or to prevent

counterfeiting To counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value tha ...

. One of the first instances of a privy mark used as a counterfeit measure was during the 17th century in a plan proposed by Sir Edward Ford to mint farthings, halfpence and three-farthings. In modern times, the privy mark is used as a design and marketing feature to commemorate a special event or signify that the coin is part of a set. It is still sometimes used to signify the location or origin of where the coin was minted, but is then usually referred to as a

mint mark A mint mark is a letter, symbol or an inscription on a coin indicating the mint where the coin was produced. It should not be confused with a mintmaster mark which is the mark of the mintmaster. History Mint marks were first developed to locate ...

. Some privy marked coins – such as the Canadian Silver Privy Marked Maple Leaf – may sell at a premium.

References

Numismatic terminology Currency production {{Coin-stub

See also

References