Digital currency is becoming increasingly important as apps, digital wallets, and access to debit and credit card readers evolve. However, physical currency still plays an important role in our lives.
Still, coins pass through our hands all the time with not so much as a second thought. One design you might not have even noticed to this point. But anyone who has sorted loose change or rolled coins for a bank has likely felt the difference between a smooth edge and a ridged one.
This isn’t a minting mistake or some small detail. Ridged coins date back centuries and are important to modern U.S. currency. Learn why some coins have ridges and others don’t, how coin design has evolved, and modern use of ridged coins.
Why Do Some Coins Have Ridges?
Coin ridges, more commonly referred to as “reeding,” are small grooves along the edge of coins. They’re added during the minting process, originally to prevent metal thieves from tampering with coins.
Early designed coins were made of expensive metals like gold and silver, making them targets for “shaving.” Tiny amounts of metal were scraped from the edges of the coins. Thieves would keep the material they shaved off and still spend the smaller coin at full value.
But with reeding, it would be obvious if a coin was tampered with, as shaving even a small portion of a ridged coin would make it immediately apparent if it had been tampered with. No ridges, no good.
Coins are no longer made of extremely valuable metals like gold and silver. However, the U.S. Mint continues reeding on some coins.
Quarters and dimes, which are more valuable, have ridges. Lower-value coins, like pennies and nickels, do not. Why?
Historically, less valuable coins used less valuable materials. Makes sense, right? Because these coins were made of cheaper material, shaving was less appealing to thieves. The cost and effort outweighed the potential gain, so the ridges weren’t added.
How The U.S. Mint Adds Ridges To Coins
Ridges are added to coins during the striking stage of mint production when large metal coils are cut into flat discs, called “blanks.” Heat softens the blanks, then they are cleaned and prepped for shaping, passing through an “upsetting mill” to raise a rim around the edge.
The blank becomes a planchet, and ridges are formed during the final striking stage. The planchet is placed into a press to imprint the coin’s front and back designs, and ridged edge via a collar that gives it the shape.
Dimes have 118 reeds, and quarters have 119.
Do Ridges Still Serve A Purpose Today?
Yes, ridges, or reeding, still are valuable. Ridges help identify coins by touch, so someone, or something, sorting change without looking can quickly tell a dime from a penny or a quarter from a nickel based on the edge alone.
The most obvious benefit is for individuals with visual impairments and anyone handling coins quickly. Cashiers, collectors, and everyday users benefit from the ability to distinguish coins without relying on visual inspection.
Consistency is also important as coins carry historical elements. Reeding maintains continuity and trust in the system and keeps coin design familiar across generations.
Sources
- United States Mint, “Coin Specifications,” official U.S. Mint website
- United States Mint, “How Coins Are Made,” official U.S. Mint website
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