Why do coins have dates?

[curmudgeonista]

Seriously.

It's tradition. Yes? But, most of the other reasons commonly given are after-the-fact reasons the dates are useful (tracking circulation life, collector's interest, weeding out after a change in content, etc...). Not sure these are compelling reasons the practice would have started in the first place.

So, why is it tradition and why bother?

[Irons]

I can handle this one Curm, It's so I know which Sovereigns I don't have yet. We have to have goals.

EDIT: Aw crap you're being serious, now I'll have to look.......

[curmudgeonista]

I can handle this one Curm, It's so I know which Sovereigns I don't have yet. We have to have goals.

I thought your goal was to get them all. Not just every date, but EVERY coin!

[Irons]

I thought your goal was to get them all. Not just every date, but EVERY coin!

Thats beside the point, we were talking about dates. Try to stay focused here.

[Irons]

http://www.coincommunity.com/forum/t...TOPIC_ID=83595

http://www.medievalcoinage.com/

[Gcubed]

Same reason they put dates on Frito's. We gotsta know when they gunna go stale.

[Irons]

Same reason they put dates on Frito's. We gotsta know when they gunna go stale.

There is no such thing as a stale Frito, they are too good to go bad.

[Gcubed]

There is no such thing as a stale Frito, they are too good to go bad.

Ya gotsa point dere friend.

[Irons]

Seriously.

It's tradition. Yes? But, most of the other reasons commonly given are after-the-fact reasons the dates are useful (tracking circulation life, collector's interest, weeding out after a change in content, etc...). Not sure these are compelling reasons the practice would have started in the first place.

So, why is it tradition and why bother?

There ain't much out there to look up.

[Usc96]

So we can collect them.

Possibly so you know which ones have valuable metal in them and which ones don't, thanks to governments cheaping out over time.

[bemac]

I can only imagine they started dating coins to help recognize and/or track the life of their durability. It became a habit. I could be wrong.

[HistoryStudent]

So we can COLLECT them by dates and mint marks....

and the bearded little weasel can't make us poorer by printing more, right?

[Master_Ho]

So that - when they were minted - they have an accurate count of how many coins are in circulation.........that way a nation knows whats out there for accounting purposes..........

[Master_Ho]

A better question - why do coins have file like or teeth edges??
(In the US that would be half-dollars, quarters and dimes which makes a very easy clue!)

[curmudgeonista]

A better question - why do coins have file like or teeth edges??
(In the US that would be half-dollars, quarters and dimes which makes a very easy clue!)

That one I know. It was to prevent shaving. This mattered when these coins were made of silver. Now, not so much.

[Master_Ho]

We have a winner!!!!

Yes - gold and silver coins were given ridges so people could tell if they have been shaved of filed down.............so doing on could get a little gold or silver, here or there, and eventually end up with a whole lot ot gold and silver filings!!

[phideaux]

... so that when archaeologists dig them up out of the ground or strangely scoop them up at the bottom of lakes hundreds or thousands of years from now, they can just say "Hey, these were made in 2011." (Under the reign of Nobel Peace Prize winner Lord Barrack Hussein Soerto Obama the Magnificent! All hail Obama!)

[Irons]

So that - when they were minted - they have an accurate count of how many coins are in circulation.........that way a nation knows whats out there for accounting purposes..........

That make the most sense.

[Master_Ho]

Well, its that or....................

"If they didn't.............where would baby coins come from?"

[goldminer]

The reeded edges also make a coin more secure in the fingers...less likely to slip and be dropped.

Side bar: "Goldminer Getting Acclimated". Acclimated to what? I don't think so.
I've not been as involved with the forum since the format changed. This is because I very much liked the old format, but not so much this "new" one.

[Master_Ho]

Seriously.

It's tradition. Yes? But, most of the other reasons commonly given are after-the-fact reasons the dates are useful (tracking circulation life, collector's interest, weeding out after a change in content, etc...). Not sure these are compelling reasons the practice would have started in the first place.

So, why is it tradition and why bother?

Well ORIGINALLY - most date commorated an event (some ruler taking over or something like that) but over time the reasons changed..........so there is no simple answer..........its been compounded by time!

[Mr. Shiny]

The reeded edges also make a coin more secure in the fingers...less likely to slip and be dropped.

While it may help your grip, it's not the reason reeding was retained after the switch to base metal.
The truth is it was kept in practice to help the blind differenciate coins, larger and smooth-'golden' dollar (one of the reasons the SBA dollar failed was it was reeded, and at a mere 2.25mm larger, very easy to confuse with a quarter), large and reeded-quarter, small and reeded-dime, small and smooth-cent, the nickel is easy to tell, medium size, smooth edge, thick.

[lightcycler]

I believe you should always date before you marry