为什么有些硬币的边缘是脊状的？

您可能知道为什么硬币上有很多东西：总统的头像向一位伟大的美国人致敬，老鹰象征着我们国家的力量，而“我们相信上帝”是不言自明的。然而，您可能没有意识到的一件事是为什么有些硬币的边缘是脊状的。

Have you ever wondered why the edges of some coins are ridged? As it turns out, those small slots along the sides of coins once had an incredibly important purpose. A coin expert on TikTok recently explained it.

您有没有想过为什么有些硬币的边缘是脊状的？事实证明，硬币侧面的那些小槽曾经有一个极其重要的用途。近日，TikTok 上的一位币币专家对此进行了解释。

When coins were first made, they were just discs of gold or silver without any ridges. The value of the coins was simply defined by how much gold or silver was in it. However, sneaky, greedy people exploited this to make an illegal profit.

最初制造硬币时，它们只是金或银的圆盘，没有任何脊线。硬币的价值简单地由其中含有多少金或银来定义。然而，狡猾、贪婪的人却利用这一点来牟取非法利益。

They would shave the edges off the coins and then use the slightly smaller coins for their full value. They'd then compile all the shavings and make a tidy profit.

他们会将硬币的边缘削掉，然后使用稍小的硬币来充分发挥其价值。然后他们将所有的刨花收集起来并赚取可观的利润。

"The smaller-sized coin often went unnoticed, but this dishonest practice decreased the value of the original gold or silver coin," the TikToker said.

“较小尺寸的硬币常常被忽视，但这种不诚实的做法降低了原始金币或银币的价值，”TikToker 说。

To prevent this, the government began milling, or grooving, the edges so a coin could easily be identified if it was trimmed.

为了防止这种情况发生，政府开始对边缘进行铣削或开槽，以便硬币在修剪后可以轻松识别。

"This means back then people could just make the coin smaller, keep the gold they took off the coin, and still use the coin as usual, so they put grooves on it. So it would be a lot harder to do that."

“这意味着当时人们可以把硬币做得更小，保留从硬币上取下的黄金，然后仍然像往常一样使用硬币，所以他们在硬币上刻了凹槽。所以做到这一点会困难得多。”

These days, people aren't filing down coins since they are no longer made with pure gold or silver, but the milled edges remain thanks to tradition. They also help prevent counterfeiting.

如今，人们不再归档硬币，因为它们不再是用纯金或纯银制成的，但由于传统，铣削边缘仍然存在。它们还有助于防止假冒。