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The Secret History of Coin Reeds | Dayton News
Those tiny ridges on dimes and quarters? They’re not just decorative—they’re a clever security feature born from a time when coins were made of gold and silver, and people were stealing tiny bits off the edges. To stop that, mints added reeds, lettering, and other edge markings so tampering was instantly obvious. While today’s coins aren’t worth enough to clip, those grooves still help us identify coins by touch, assist the visually impaired, and let machines sort coins by edge detail. Dimes have 118 reeds, quarters 119, half dollars 150—smooth edges on pennies and nickels because their metal…
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