We are now accustomed to knurling typical of our coins, but this feature has not always been present. It was introduced at a time when coins came minted with precious materialsand the reason may not be what you expect.
At the end of the seventeenth century, the coin shearing crisis it had become a big problem in England. Shearing was a consistent practice of filing and removing material from coins, which at that time could be gold or silver. To counteract this problem, it was therefore decided to mark each coin on the edge.
There knurling or even the simple engraving of a textgreatly helped the English economy of the time, thanks to the reduction of counterfeiting and coin shearing.
But there’s more, because according to most sources, the The main creator of this invention was none other than Isaac Newton. In fact, the great scientist accepted the position of Guardian of the English Mint in 1696 and played a great role in fighting the counterfeiting of those times.
Thus it was, therefore, that with “the new invention of coin rounding and letter or vein engraving” at his disposal, Newton oversaw the program to replace all damaged or badly worn coins. The program ended in 1698, and put an end to the shearing phenomenon.
L’legacy of Isaac Newton, just like his brilliant scientific deductions (his universal gravitation has recently been rehabilitated), remains to this day, despite the fact that the shearing of modern coins – made of ordinary metal – is almost useless; the knurled edges are however useful to avoid counterfeiting.
Staying on topic, have you ever wondered why coins leave that particular smell on your hands?
