The Denarius

Introduction

Serrate denarius and coin clipping

The Roman Republic tried to introduce “serrate denarius” in which the edge of the denarius was serrated.

Sir Isaac Newton invented “reeding” in 1690, in which the coins edges have reeding around it to prevent coin clipping and shaving off the edges. The reeding would make it immediately obvious if any metal had been removed and thus the value of a coin reduced.

References