This is the reason why some coins have ridges and the clever purpose behind their design

You’ve probably fished a dime or quarter from your pocket and noticed those tiny grooves around the edge. You might think they’re just aesthetic. Think again. That subtle texture has roots in fraud prevention, centuries back.

In summary:

• Ridges first appeared on coins to stop people shaving off tiny amounts of precious metal
• Smooth edges made fraud invisible, ridges made it obvious
• Isaac Newton himself helped push the system into place in 17th-century England
• Today, even without gold or silver coins, ridges still serve a useful purpose

Let’s dig into that...

Why were coin edges initially ridged?

In eras when coins held real gold or silver value, dishonest folks would shave or “clip” off tiny bits from coin edges, bits that added up fast in precious metal. The trimmed coin looked normal but had lost weight and worth. That was a huge problem.

To stop that, mints introduced ridged – or reeded – edges. If a coin showed smooth or missing grooves, clipping was obvious. Efforts by Isaac Newton at England’s Royal Mint in the late 1600s helped standardize this safeguard.

Why do modern coins still use ridged edges?

Funnily enough, people didn’t ditch the ridges after precious metals stopped being used, mainly because the minting machinery already made them that way. The cost to change it wasn’t worth it.

Also, a secondary benefit emerged: a tactile guide for those with visual impairments. You can identify a dime from a penny just by touch, all thanks to its ridges. As Charlotte Hilton Andersen explains for Readers Digest, each reeded coin has a specific number of ridges:

• Dime - 118
• Quarter – 119
• Half-dollar – 150
• Gold or Silver American Eagle – 198

So, now you know, what started as a protective measure evolved into a tradition, one with practical value even today.

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