Editing Coin (section)

=== Debasement and clipping ===
{{Main|Debasement}}
[[File:10cts1879.jpg|thumb|280px|A [[Switzerland|Swiss]] [[Coins of the Swiss franc|ten-cent coin]] from 1879, similar to the oldest coins still in official use today]]
[[File:Alexander the great temnos tetradrachm.jpg|alt=Alexander the Great Tetradrachm from the Temnos Mint|thumb|280x280px|Alexander the Great Tetradrachm from the Temnos Mint, c. 188–170 BC]]
Throughout history, monarchs and governments have often created more coinage than their supply of precious metals would allow if the coins were pure metal. By replacing some fraction of a coin's precious metal content with a [[base metal]] (often [[copper]] or [[nickel]]), the intrinsic value of each individual coin was reduced (thereby "debasing" the money), allowing the coining authority to produce more coins than would otherwise be possible. Debasement occasionally occurs in order to make the coin physically harder and therefore less likely to be worn down as quickly, but the more usual reason is to profit from the difference between face value and metal value. Debasement of money almost always leads to price [[inflation]]. Sometimes [[price control]]s are at the same time also instituted by the governing authority, but historically these have generally proved unworkable.

The United States is unusual in that it has only slightly modified its coinage system (except for the images and symbols on the coins, which have changed a number of times) to accommodate two centuries of inflation. The one-cent coin has changed little since 1856 (though its composition was changed in 1982 to remove virtually all copper from the coin) and still remains in circulation, despite a greatly reduced purchasing power. On the other end of the spectrum, the largest coin in common circulation is valued at [[Quarter (United States coin)|25 cents]], a very low value for the largest denomination coin compared to many other countries. Increases in the prices of copper, nickel, and zinc meant that both the US one- and five-cent coins became worth more for their raw metal content than their face (fiat) value. In particular, copper one-cent pieces (those dated prior to 1982 and some 1982-dated coins) contained about two cents' worth of copper.

Some denominations of circulating coins that were formerly minted in the United States are no longer made. These include coins with a face value of a half cent, two cents, three cents, and twenty cents. (The half dollar and dollar coins are still produced, but mostly for vending machines and collectors.) In the past, the US also coined the following denominations for circulation in gold: One dollar, $2.50, three dollars, five dollars, ten dollars, and twenty dollars. In addition, cents were originally slightly larger than the modern quarter and weighed nearly half an ounce, while five-cent coins (known then as "half dimes") were smaller than a dime and made of a silver alloy. Dollar coins were also much larger, and weighed approximately an ounce. One-dollar gold coins are no longer produced and rarely used. The US also issues bullion and commemorative coins with the following denominations: 50¢, $1, $5, $10, $25, $50, and $100.

Circulating coins commonly suffered from "shaving" or "clipping": the public would cut off small amounts of precious metal from their edges to sell it and then pass on the mutilated coins at full value.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Origin of Financial Crises |last=Cooper |first=George |year= 2008|publisher=Random House |location=New York |isbn=978-0-307-47345-5 |page=46 }}</ref> Unmilled British [[sterling silver]] coins were sometimes reduced to almost half their minted weight. This form of debasement in [[Tudor dynasty|Tudor]] England was commented on by Sir [[Thomas Gresham]], whose name was later attached to [[Gresham's law]]. The monarch would have to periodically recall circulating coins, paying only the bullion value of the silver, and reminting them. This, also known as recoinage, is a long and difficult process that was done only occasionally.<ref>Denis R. Cooper ''The Art and Craft of Coinmaking. A History of Minting Technology''. London: Spink, 1988. {{ISBN|0-907605-27-3}} p.47</ref> Many coins have milled or [[Reeding#Numismatics|reeded edges]], originally designed to make it easier to detect clipping.