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Coin edge types

Started by <k>, February 26, 2012, 10:00:34 PM

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translateltd

Quote from: coffeetime on February 27, 2012, 11:57:55 AM
Thanks, Enlil. The HK $5 long had an interesting security edge, of course, starting in the days of British rule.

Some of the smallest Chinese characters I ever saw were squeezed into the narrow security strip on the edge of the HK$5.

gerard974

Hello
Is a link for to seen the inscription on the edge of the 2 euros coins
http://cjoint.com/?0Cknngrg0uR
best regards  Gerard

Figleaf

Thanks, Gérard. Just a little word of caution. The edge on the euro coins are made before the coin is struck. Between the two processes, the coin can enter the press both ways. In other words, the two positions are not mint errors, but simply a consequence of the way the coins are made. The division between coins having the edge inscription "up" and "down" should be around 50/50.

Peter
An unidentified coin is a piece of metal. An identified coin is a piece of history.

gerard974

Hello Peter
I know but is just for that the members seen all the legends
Best regards  Gerard

FosseWay

Some edge inscriptions must be applied during striking. The Spanish 5, 25 and 50 peseta coins issued under Franco all have the edge inscription orientated in the same way. IIRC if you hold the coin horizontally with Franco's head uppermost, the edge text is the right way up. You get a lot of these coins in UK kiloware (a legacy of the popularity of Spain for British holidaymakers), and despite trawling through loads of them looking for errors and elusive star dates/exposición issues etc., I've never found one where the edge inscription is the other way up.

The Spanish coins have raised edge lettering, which is IME unusual. Perhaps this explains why it was added during the striking of the faces of the blank rather than before.

chrisild

Quote from: FosseWay on March 11, 2012, 10:00:54 AM
The Spanish coins have raised edge lettering, which is IME unusual. Perhaps this explains why it was added during the striking of the faces of the blank rather than before.

Much less common than incuse lettering indeed. But as I mentioned before, it can also be found on the Swiss 5 fr coins.

Christian

FosseWay

I've handled fewer Swiss 5 Fr coins than I have the Spanish ones, but I probably have 20-30 of them and they all have the same edge alignment as each other, too. So it would seem that raised edge lettering tends to be added at the time of striking while incuse lettering is added to the blanks before striking. Is there any reason for this?

chrisild

Production speed, as far as I know. Raised edge lettering is "safer" (harder to counterfeit) but "more complicated" (difficult to make). So yes, the Swiss - and probably other - pieces with raised lettering will have the same orientation. Incuse (or incused?) edge lettering is usually done before the obverse and reverse designs are added.

I am sure others can explain this better than I could but ... basically, if you have a coin with incused edge characters, the piece can easily be "pushed" out of the machine that holds it. With a raised edge, the holder needs to be moved away first - which takes some time. Too much time for mass production, it seems. For similar reasons the €2 coin edges get their lettering first; the milled structure is added later.

Christian

Figleaf

On those Swiss 5 Francs coins you will see that there are three vertical lines on the edge. The edge was made with a technique known as virole brisée (segmented collar). This technique implies that the edge was struck at the same time as the obverse and reverse, which explains why the orientation is always the same. The only other example of modern coins struck with this technique I can think of are some high value Italian coins struck just before or during the second word war.

Peter
An unidentified coin is a piece of metal. An identified coin is a piece of history.

FosseWay

Thanks for the explanations, guys. I haven't got one to hand just now, but I have a feeling that if you look in the spaces between UNA, GRANDE Y LIBRE on the pre-1975 Spanish pieces there may be lines there too, suggesting they used the virole brisée process as well.

On the order of adding edge decoration: yes, I believe it is standard in the UK as well to put the text on £1 and £2 coins before the milling. This is one way to spot even the best forgeries, as for some reason the forgers always do it the other way round, with the result that the milling can sometimes still be seen in the recesses of the letters, which would be impossible on a genuine coin.

chrisild

Side note - Here is another topic which deals with this "segmented collar":
http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,5585.msg57627.html#msg57627

Christian

<k>

#26


Here is a security edge, on the Hong Kong $5 of the 1960s.

The coin was produced by the Royal Mint (UK).
Visit the website of The Royal Mint Museum.

See: The Royal Mint Museum.

<k>



A more elaborate security edge on the Irish pound coin of 1990.

The image above is courtesy of coinz.eu.
Visit the website of The Royal Mint Museum.

See: The Royal Mint Museum.

<k>



After Winston Churchill died in January 1965, the government decided that a special crown ( a 5 shillings coin) should be issued to commemorate him. The Royal Mint considered adding an edge inscription to the crown that would list his many titles and honours. However, the need was to produce the maximum number of coins in the shortest period of time. Adding an edge inscription would have slowed down production, so the idea was dropped, and the crown was issued with a milled edge.

This information appeared in the January 2015 edition of Coin News (Token Publishing, UK). Back issues may still be available. The image below is © Coin News / Token Publishing.

See: UK Churchill crown with edge inscription.
Visit the website of The Royal Mint Museum.

See: The Royal Mint Museum.

<k>

#29
UK round pound Scottish design.jpg


The UK round pound (1983-2015) had a security edge with incuse lettering.

This Latin motto translates as "Nobody attacks me with impunity".

That referred to the thistle that appeared on the Scottish-themed design.
Visit the website of The Royal Mint Museum.

See: The Royal Mint Museum.