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The Learning Kingdom's Cool Fact of the Day for June 30, 1999
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Why do some US coins have notched edges?
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United States dimes, quarters, and half dollars have notches all
around their edges, but pennies and nickels have no notches.
Notches are a remnant from days when the value of a coin was
determined by the amount of silver or gold it contained. The US
mint incorporated the notches as a way of discouraging people from
shaving off small amounts of the precious metals from their coins.
Less valuable coins have always contained only cheaper metals, and
so their smooth edges were allowed to remain.
Although coins today no longer contain silver, the notches have been
kept as part of their design, and are useful for recognition by the
visually impaired.
More about United States coins:
http://www.ustreas.gov/opc/opc0033.html
Another Cool Fact about coins:
http://www.cool-fact.com/archive/1997/11/24.html
Today's Cool Word is "coin":
http://www.cool-word.com/archive/1999/06/30.html
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