Everybody has that moment when they realize they don’t know about something that they should probably know about. Whether it’s history, language, science, or cultural phenomena, you’ve felt the stinging personal embarrassment of a moment wherein you realize there’s some common knowledge that isn’t so common. Don’t feel bad; nobody knows everything. Nobody, that is, except me and my sidekick, The Internet!
Somewhere in the world, a confused soul begs the question…
Why do some American coins have ridges around the edge?
Anyone who has had some spare change in their pocket and some time to kill has noticed that while the edges of both pennies and nickels are completely smooth, the edges of quarters and dimes have tiny little ridges all the way around. Why is this? Why make a distinction? Are different sizes, colors, and markings not enough?
According to the US Mint, there is a reason. Or… there was a reason. Originally, the quarter and dime – in addition to other “major” coins like the dollar and half-dollar – were made partially from precious metals like silver and gold. The special edge (also known as a “reeded edge”) served as protection against counterfeiting and, more importantly, fraudulent use.
How, exactly, does one “fraudulently use” a coin? Well, prior to reeded edges, people in need of money would file down the edges of the major coins in an attempt to collect bits of the precious metals contained within (aiming to sell any trace amounts of gold and/or silver for a sizable chunk of change). This filing scheme was not only illegal as defacement of American currency but it was also a practice that would ultimately negatively affect the value of that coin and, in turn, cost the government money (as it was essentially like slowly throwing their money away).
Since the 1960s, however, no precious metals have been used in the minting of any American coin (major or minor) and yet the ridges are still present. The US Mint rationalizes the continued utilization of this outdated security measure by saying that the ridges now serve as an aid to the visually impaired, helping them distinguish between similarly-sized coins like the penny and dime. Honestly, though, it seems like a good old fashioned case of “well, this is the way we’ve always done it” that we’re simply not meant to question.
Now you know.
