How many ridges are there on a dime

Zbeckabee Moderator 16 year member replies Answer has 5 votes. Currently voted the best answer. The reeded edge on the modern dime ridges to be exact-- harks back to the reeding on gold and silver coins which discouraged counterfeiting.

It also curbed unscrupulous practices like filing down the edges to gather some of the precious metals. Get a new mixed Fun Trivia quiz each day in your email. It's a fun way to start your day! What is the origin of the word dime in saying someone was "dimed out on? So what's a reference librarian to do? Find the answer, of course. The first thing I learned was the technical term for the ridges or grooves on coins is reeding.

Before the introduction of reeding, small amounts of gold or silver from coins could be chiseled or shaved away and the precious metal sold again or remelted and made into another coin.

The slang usage of the world chisel may even derive from this ancient practice. While quarters and dimes are no longer minted from silver, with the exception of special collectable quarters , the ridges remain. Come in a take a look at the exhibit - you will find it in the first floor gallery. What else can you learn during Money Smart Week? Preschoolers will have a visit from Ben Franklin for the preschool story time Thursday morning, April When the coins are struck, a part of the die called the collar holds the blank in place and applies the edge.

Newer coins with updated designs state quarters, new portraits also have reeded edges. The design element lived to see another day on the new dies because reeding is useful for distinguishing coins by feel as well as appearance, making them more user-friendly for the visually impaired.

If you gather up a bunch of coins, you'll see that not all reeded edges are created equal. The number and size of reeds on coins is not dictated by law, so individual U. Mints were long free to make their reeds to their own in-house specifications, leading to distinct style differences between coins from different mints and eras.

The dimes made by the Philadelphia Mint in those same years have thin, tightly-spaced reeds. Things are a little more standardized now and the Mint lists its reeding specifications as follows: dimes, ; quarters, ; half dollars, ; dollar, ; Susan B.

Anthony dollar, BY Matt Soniak. How do ridges prevent fraud? Wait, are people still clipping coins?