Mondo Knows Facts
Milled coin edges were introduced to prevent precious metal clipping
Isaac Newton introduced reeded coin perimeters to expose illegal metal shaving
As Master of the Royal Mint, Sir Isaac Newton popularised reeded or milled grooved edges on gold and silver coins. The fine grooves around the coin perimeter made it instantly obvious if dishonest individuals shaved or clipped precious metal off edges before spending the debased coin.
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Tags: coins, money, history
Milled coin edges were introduced to prevent precious metal clipping: the short answers
- Where does this come from, and can I check it?
- Isaac Newton introduced reeded coin perimeters to expose illegal metal shaving. The figure is taken from Encyclopaedia Britannica, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
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