Why Do UK Coins Have Ridged Edges? A TikTok User Reveals the Crafty Rationale

You might believe you're quite the numismatic whizz, but this latest nugget of information might just astound you. There's a hefty dose of deliberation that goes into the design of UK coins, considering aspects such as the colour and shape. But have you ever paused to ponder why the coins jangling in your pocket have ridged edges?

If you fancy yourself a bit of a numismatic whizz, this latest nugget of information might just surprise you.

A lot of thought goes into the design of UK coins, from the colour to the shape. But have you ever stopped to wonder why the coins jangling in your pocket have ridged edges?

Well, a TikTok user has revealed the clever reason behind it.

TikTok user @CoinCollectingWizard, who has 191,000 followers, shared the interesting factoid in a video that’s racked up hundreds of likes and comments.

He says that historically, coins were made from gold or silver and didn’t have ridges.

The intrinsic value of each coin was directly related to its gold or silver content.

However, he says that some people tried to scam the system with these coins.

“They filed off the edges and sold them for their value in gold or silver,” he adds in the video.

While the coin would be slightly smaller, this fraudulent activity would go unnoticed and the genuine coin would decrease in value.

To stop this practice, governments began milling, or adding grooves, to the edges – ensuring any tampered coins would be immediately recognisable.

In today’s currency, coins are not made from solid gold or silver, yet the tradition of milled edges continues.

“This means back then people could just make the coin smaller, keep the gold they took off the coin, and still use the coin as usual, so they put grooves on it.

“So it would be a lot harder to do that. Now it’s just tradition.”

There’s another reason why coins have ridges, also known as reeded edges. It’s to deter counterfeiting and make it more difficult to clip or shave the edges of coins.

The ridges on the 10p coin also help differentiate it from the 2p coin, which has a smooth edge.

After sharing the information, one person commented: “Interesting, never knew this.”

While another said: “Thank you.”

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