created the milled or reeded edge. A coin treated this way featured sharp, uniform, mechanical serrations running along its circumference. If someone took a file or shears to a reeded coin, the smooth shaved patch stood out like a sore thumb. A merchant could glance at the rim or simply feel it with two fingers to spot tampering in an instant.
When the famous scientist Sir Isaac Newton was appointed Warden (and later Master) of the Royal Mint in 1696, he took this defensive design and ran with it. Newton
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