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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;kaparthy, post: 29740, member: 57463&quot;]Many dictionaries are called &quot;Webster&#039;s&quot; or &quot;Webster&quot; in America.&nbsp; It is the publisher that identifies the dictionary.&nbsp; Saying &quot;Webster, Second Edition&quot; might refer to the 1841 (second) edition of Noah Webster&#039;s <i>An American Dictionary of the English Language</i> published in 1828.&nbsp; When the brothers George and Charles Mirriam bought the unsold copies of Webster&#039;s 1841 edition of his dictionary, they acquired true title to the name &quot;Webster&#039;s Dictionary.&quot;&nbsp; However, like &quot;scotch tape&quot; and &quot;xerox&quot; the name &quot;Webster&quot; has passed into the common language.&nbsp; That is why it is important to cite the publisher and the year when quoting a dictionary.&nbsp; </p><p>(See, for reference, <a href="http://www.m-w.com/info/noah.htm" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.m-w.com/info/noah.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.m-w.com/info/noah.htm</a>)</p><p><br /></p><p>In this case, the question is not academic.&nbsp; We are numismatists, here on this forum. Each of us has more or less background or experience than the others, but all of us are interested in the subject matter.&nbsp; Our special interests supersede the common understanding of even dictionary editors.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>The example definition cited above requires that to be a &quot;coin&quot; an object must be <b>&quot;certified by a mark or marks upon it to be of a definite exchange value&quot;</b> -- by which defnition the U.K. gold sovereign is not a coin.</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;In fact, most coins in most times and places had no such marks of value on them.&nbsp; Marks of value only became common in the 1600s and forward.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>One exception is the X on Roman silver denarii, but, then, again, only relatively few issues of all denarii actually carried the X.&nbsp; Similarly, small silver coins of Colophon had TH (in ligature) on the reverse, we believe that this meant &quot;fourth&quot; perhaps 1/4 obol.&nbsp; In any event, it was just an exception. Historically, coins carried no &quot;marks of value.&quot;&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Where, for instance, is the &quot;mark of definite exchange value&quot; on a US $10 gold coin, issued 1795-1804?&nbsp; I believe that the denomination did not appear until 1838.&nbsp; So, were these not coins?[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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