0
According to the United States mint, ridged or "reeded" edges serve two purposes.
Originally, reeded edges made coins harder to counterfeit, they also prevented people from filing down or "clipping" the coins.
In 1793, the first U.S. coins were linked to a silver standard. A half dollar contained half as much silver as a silver dollar, a quarter contained one-fourth, and so on. The ridged edges prevented people from shaving the coins' edges for extra silver. Over a short time they would have a pile of silver or gold shavings and the coins returned to circulation would be light, but still, usually accepted at face value.
While coins these days aren't made of precious metals, the government decided to keep the reeded edges on certain coins to help the visually impaired. The dime and the penny, for example, are roughly the same size, so the ridges help people distinguish them.
Bonus fact: The movie cliche of biting a gold coin is not to verify that it is real gold. Gold coins are tooth-breakingly hard. The practice was to check for another nasty gold-thieving technique of hollowing out coins. If a coin collapsed when bit, you knew it had been emptied of its core metal.
Wiki User
∙ 9y ago
Add your answer:
Earn +20 pts
What do call the ridges on the sides of coins?
Coin Edge.
How many ridges does a quarter have?
There are 119 edges on the outer side of a quarter. The ridges were made to help prevent and detect counterfeit coins.
How do you arrange 8 coins on the four sides of a square such that there are 4 coins on each side?
Two coins at each vertex.
What us coins have no ridges around the edges?
"Golden" dollars, pennies, and nickels. It's not that hard, just grab a fistful of change and check it out.
What do you call a 2d shape with six sides?
you call a two dimensional shape with six sides a hexagon
What do call the ridges on the sides of coins?
Coin Edge.
Does a milled coins have ridges?
Yes - the ridges are called milling, or reeding.
Why can you pick nickels up if they have no ridges?
that isn't the reason coins have ridges, the reason is because they help blind people distinguish their coins. So nickles not having ridges does not affect how easily you can pick them up. Because the human finger has ridges. (The thumbprints tell it)!
Why are there ridges on the sides of coins?
Nowadays, alongside size and shape, to help those with sight difficulties distinguish different coins. When coins were actually made of a precious metal they were there to prevent "clipping" or the practice of shaving a tiny bit of metal from the edge of the coin. A clipped coin would be easy to spot because the ridges, properly called a "reeded edge" would be worn away
How much is a susan b Anthony dollar with ridges on the edges worth?
These coins contain no silver and are very common. They are worth only face value. All of these coins have ridges.
How many ridges does a quarter have?
There are 119 edges on the outer side of a quarter. The ridges were made to help prevent and detect counterfeit coins.
What is the definition of ridged rollars?
Dollar coins with 'milling' or ridges around the rim.
What are ridges that form on the sides of glacial valleys as a glacier melts?
lateral moraine
How many grooves on the edge of a quarter?
There are 119 ridges on the United States quarter dollar. The ridges are there mostly for making sure the coins are properly used in coin operated machines.
Are all coins circles?
no. UK have coins with 5 and 7 sides
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.
What do you call the coins in US dollars?
coins
