In the nineteenth century, before the mint started issuing coins with reeding or grooves on the edges to prevent it, some slightly dishonest people would shave the precious metal just enough to go visually undetected.
They would then have full value for the coin as well as that of the shavings.
If suspicious, a merchant would bounce the coin on a hard surface to hear if it “rang true,” thereby proving its authenticity.
The word ring is from the Anglo-Saxon hringan.
Related Posts
-
How Many Rings Does Saturn Have and How Many of the Planetary Rings Around Saturn Have Been Identified?
The answer depends on how you count the rings around Saturn. Seven of Saturn's ring systems have been identified and named by scientists, but some of those rings are made up of countless…
-
How Many Rings Does Uranus Have and What Color Are the Rings Around the Planet Uranus?
The eleven rings around Uranus are thin bands some 0.6 to 7.0 miles (1 to 11 km) thick. The exception is the farthest edge of the farthest ring, which ranges up to 60…
-
What Are Saturn’s Rings Made of and How Did the Rings Around the Planet Saturn Form?
Astronomers believe that Saturn's rings are made of water, ice, and rock. This icy matter can range from the size of a tiny grain of sand to bigger than a boulder, over 30…
-
How Large Are the Rings Around the Planet Saturn and How Far From the Surface of Saturn Do the Rings Extend?
The whole system of rings, gaps and all, begins about 40,000 miles (64,000 km) out from Saturn's equator and ends 290,000 miles (464,000 km) from the surface. That's 250,000 miles (400,000 km) of…
-
How Do Saturn’s Planetary Rings Orbit Saturn and Which Of Saturn’s Rings Revolve Around the Planet the Fastest?
Saturn's rings have circular orbits, but they revolve at various speeds. Parts of a single ring even orbit Saturn at different rates. For instance, the outer edge of ring E, furthest from the…
