Why Do Some Coins Have Denticles?
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Upon looking at vintage coins, one may notice that many of them have ornamental design elements near the rim that aren’t often seen on newer coins. These decorative design details that are sometimes likened to teeth or saw serrations around the perimeter of a coin’s obverse and/or reverse are largely a thing of the past, as a glance at the outer design borders of most contemporary coins will quickly reveal.
But there are many reasons why coins of yore bear denticles – a word whose linguistic root refers to teeth and according to Merriam-Webster means “a conical pointed project (such as a small tooth).”
Denticles Dissuaded Edge Shaving
Back in the day, many coins were made from precious metals that, even in tiny quantities, prompted industrious – many might rather say unscrupulous – individuals to shave the edges to obtain small amounts of valuable bullion and flip the altered coin for its stated face value. One common method involved filing away the edge of the coin to the point that it registered a barely noticeable difference in the coin’s overall diameter.
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Comments
It helped with stacking the coins.
Check out these denticles on a modern coin:
Coinsof1984@martinb6830 on twitter
Thanks for the link. Interesting that they helped with metal flow.... did not realize that point. Cheers, RickO
Denticle counts can be used to detect counterfeited coins perhaps
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https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/514077?page=38
Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb
Bad transactions with : nobody to date
Here's an obscure one for you:
The 1927 Australian Penny (about the size of a half dollar) has a very scarce 'Indian' variety, because it has one additional denticle (I think the normal count is 168). I used to have one of these cents that would grade RB MS 63, but didn't want to count the denticles.
"Seu cabra da peste,
"Sou Mangueira......."
Great thread!
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Never thought of them as a security measure against shaving either...neato!
Coins are Neato!
"If it's a penny for your thoughts and you put in your two cents worth, then someone...somewhere...is making a penny." - Steven Wright
Denticles, not to be confused with reeding we’re used to hel with metal flow, helping to make full strikes easier on the dies and machinery. Especially for larger diameter coins.
How does that work? Do the denticles serve as receiving reservoirs for metal flow?
neat thread
Yes, so that there is continued metal flow to the rim. Since coins struck now are at much lower relief, and with improved heat treatment and purity of steel, there isn't the need for denticles.
The SLQ has unique denticles that are dots and dashes.
Even today uneven denticles are signs of a counterfeit coin. Counterfeit detection is an import aspect of the design.