I happened to look at my change stacker and noticed a reeded edge in the nickel stack. An obvious mistake.... So my mind goes to wondering. Dimes, quarters, half dollars and dollars have always had reeded edges. Nickels and cents have never had reeded edges. Is there a reason?
I believe it goes back to when they were silver. People would clip the silver coins to shave off some extra and save themselves some money. Putting the reeding around the coin would show that the coin had not been clipped.
I think the original reason was that coin "shavers" would shave the edges off of precious metal coins. Reeding hinders that. Nickels and cents contain no precious metals.
Yup reading was added to stop people from shaving down the edges. Remember every coin has an exact weight...at the time they are minted. So a standard has always been established. My dad would tell me at the bank they had gold scales and when you brought in your gold coin to cash it in...it would be weighted a $5 Indian may only net you $4.60 as an example if it did not weight the correct amount. Another reason for silk purses so the coins would rub and wear.
I believe you're correct... for dimes & quarters. Someone's-Gotta-Nitpick: Instead of a reeded edge, most Bust half dollars have smooth edges with the inscription FIFTY CENTS OR HALF A DOLLAR. Presumably the edge inscription also discouraged shaving. Here's my less-than-pristine 1836 half. During 1836, the Mint changed to a reeded edge. After that I believe all circulating half dollars have a reeded edge.
Yes. Precisely. I know they did this with certain gold coins too. Especially Ancient Gold. Which makes perfect sense.
Today the differences are a benefit to the visually impaired. I believe an organization for the blind suggested that the Sacajawea dollars not be reeded to differentiate them from the quarter.
That's why medals don't have reeded edges - medals were sold at a premium and purchased by wealthier individuals, and they had no reason to shave. It drove me nuts that our medals chairman in our coin club was having our medals struck with reeding. The unknowledgeable think it is "cool" to have reeds.
Lettered edges would be more interesting, but would cost your club a significant premium because they must be added before or after the piece is struck, or with a segmented collar, which was done for the $10 Indian and $20 St. Gaudens gold pieces.
SAME PRICE. Reeding is made at the time of striking, not after. The only difference is the type of collar used. All medals struck by the U.S. Mint, Royal Mint, RCM, Paris Mint we're struck with plain edges. Then some had lettering stamped into the edge.
Most early medals did not have reeded edges because they were not struck in collars. The high relief of most medals required multiple strikes with the planchet being re-annealed between strikes. Striking it in a collar would lead to two problems, getting the medal out of and back into the collar and two the high pressure would with striking in a collar tend to damage the dies and/or press. So the medals were struck without a collar and after the design was fully brought up the "flashing" that extended beyond the edge of the design would be removed by turning the edge down in a lathe. Since the edge is deliberately shaved down, there could be no reeded edge. Unless it was applied afterward. Here is a progression set of a medal that shows the steps. You can see how the diameter of the medal spreads with each strike, and then after strike #4 the edges is cut away. https://coins.ha.com/itm/u.s.-presi...edal-production-total-8-pieces-/a/1181-3688.s
There are two ways it can be done. One uses a tool steel rod withthe reeds on the outside that is forced down through the hole in the collar cutting all the reeds at the same time. the other way is to use a smaller diameter tool and roll it around the inner hole under pressure lake a gear. It the size is proper and it doesn't slip when it gets back to the starting point the raised "teeth" of the tool will fall right back into the starting grooves. Two or three circuits around the inside of the collar and the reeds are formed. i know they have used the second method, but is seems to me the first would be faster and easier.
