# How was the value of gold and silver determined back when it was used for currency?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-the-value-of-gold-and-silver-determined-back-when-it-was-used-for-currency/1013157>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 20, 2025, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-the-value-of-gold-and-silver-determined-back-when-it-was-used-for-currency/1013157 "2025-01-20T14:09:21Z")\
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**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\
**Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-the-value-of-gold-and-silver-determined-back-when-it-was-used-for-currency/1013157/6 "2025-01-20T16:13:50Z")

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> [@LSLGuy](#):
>
> In fact an early form of counterfeiting was the practice of shaving coins. Whack a couple percent off 100 coins and you have precious metal equal to 2 whole coins. If you’re careful your handiwork just looks like normal wear.

Which is why coins started being made with reeded (grooved or milled) edges:

> Reeded edges are often referred to as “ridged” or “grooved” (US usage), or “milled” (UK usage).[1] Some coins, such as United States quarters and dimes, have reeded edges. Reeding of edges was introduced to prevent coin clipping and counterfeiting.[2][3]

[Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coin_edge)

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