Coin Reeding

You’ve probably noticed that some coins have jagged edges, but have you ever wondered why? This distinctive edge is called reeding, and though it may appear to be merely decorative it is actually historically significant.

In times past, coins were made from precious metals and people would steal money by shaving the edges off their coins before using them to pay for goods or services. To stop this practice, the government added reeding to the coins they struck, so that such tampering would be obvious.