Coin edges are the parts of a

coin A coin is a small object, usually round and flat, 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 to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by ...

's surface between the faces; they may be plain (smooth) or patterned, or a combination of both. They can also include lettering. Reeded edges are often referred to as "ridged" or "grooved" (US usage), or "milled" (UK usage).Concise Oxford Dictionary (2006): mill, produce regular ribbed markings on the edge of (a coin) Some coins, such as United States quarters and dimes, have reeded edges. Reeding of edges was introduced to prevent

coin clipping A coin is a small object, usually round and flat, 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 to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by a ...

and

counterfeiting A counterfeit is a fake or unauthorized replica of a genuine product, such as money, documents, designer items, or other valuable goods. Counterfeiting generally involves creating an imitation of a genuine item that closely resembles the original ...

.Why do some coins have ridges around the edges?
/ref> The main techniques of coin edging are edge mills of various types, which put a pattern on a smooth edge, after a coin and

coin mill In numismatics, the term milled coinage (also known as machine-struck coinage) is used to describe coins which are produced by some form of machine, rather than by manually hammering coin blanks between two dies (hammered coinage) or casting coi ...

s with edge rings, which pattern the edge at the time when the coin is being milled.

Inscriptions

Examples of edge inscriptions or edge lettering include on the edge of U.S.

Presidential dollar coins Presidential dollar coins (authorized by ) are a series of United States dollar coins with engravings of relief portraits of U.S. presidents on the obverse and the Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World'') on the reverse. From 2 ...

, various national

€2 edge inscriptions Before the introduction of the euro, the current eurozone members issued their own individual national coinage, most of which featured mint marks, privy marks and/or mint master marks. These marks have been continued as a part of the national desig ...

, and various phrases on the UK

one pound coin The British one pound (£1) coin is a denomination of sterling coinage. Its obverse has featured the profile of Charles III since 2024 and bears the Latin engraving CHARLES III D G REX () F D (), which means 'Charles III, by the grace of God, ...

, most commonly . Inscriptions are more common on thicker, higher-value, or non-circulating coins.

Coin edge patterns

Examples of patterns used on coin edges include: File:Гладкий гурт.png , File:С вырезом гурт.png , File:Рифлёный гурт.png , File:Прерывисто рубчатый гурт.png , File:С наклонными засечками гурт.png , File:Текстовой гурт.png , File:Сетчатый гурт.png , File:С узором гурт.png , File:С выбоинами гурт.png,

References

Numismatics {{coin-stub

Inscriptions

Coin edge patterns

See also

References