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A coin is a piece of hard material, traditionally metal and usually in the shape of a disc, which is used as a form of money. Traditionally the value of a coin comes from the intrinsic value of the component metal, but in modern times most coins are made of a base metal and their value comes strictly from their status as fiat money.

To distinguish between these two types of coins, as well as from other forms of tokens which have been used as money, monetary scholars have defined there to be three criteria which must be met for an object to be a "true coin". These criteria are:

It must be made of a valuable material, and trade for close to the intrinsic value of that material.
It must be of a standardized weight and purity.
It must be marked to identify the authority that guarantees the content.

By the above definition, the invention and first known usage of coins comes from the Kingdom of Lydia circa 600 BC. Under three generations of Lydian kings, the money of Lydia gradually moved from being lumps of electrum (a mixture of silver and gold) to coins of a guaranteed weight and purity, marked with the seal of the King. Coins also developed very close to this timeframe in India and China.

Throughout history governments have been tempted to create more coinage than their supply of precious metals would allow. By replacing some fraction of a coin's precious metal content with a base metal, a government reduces the intrinsic value of the coins (thereby "debasing" their money) and can produce more coins then they could otherwise. Debasement of currency almost always leads to inflation unless price controls are also instituted by the governing authorities. Some consider a classic example of this phenomenon to be the behavior of price levels in the United States since 1964 when United States Coins ceased to be minted of silver.

The milled edges still found on many coins were designed to show that none of the valuable metal had been shaved off the coin. The front side of a coin, traditionally carrying a picture of the head of a monarch or other authority, is called the obverse, or colloquially heads. The back side is called the reverse, or colloquially tails.

To coin a term is to create a neologism

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 [[de:Münze]][[nl:Munt]]
-A '''coin''' is a piece of hard material, usually [[metal]] and usually in the shape of a disc, used as a form of [[money]].
+A '''coin''' is a piece of hard material, traditionally [[metal]] and usually in the shape of a disc, which is used as a form of [[money]].  Traditionally the value of a coin comes from the intrinsic value of the component metal, but in modern times most coins are made of a [[base metal]] and their value comes strictly from their status as [[fiat money]].
+To distinguish between these two types of coins, as well as from other forms of tokens which have been used as money, monetary scholars have defined there to be three criteria which must be met for an object to be a "true coin".  These criteria are:
-Coins were first used in [[Lydia]] in prehistoric times. Until relatively recent times, a coin was simply a piece of valuable metal (often [[gold]] or [[silver]]) whose weight was guaranteed by a government or other authority, whose value depended on its having a known weight of valuable material. The milled edges still found on many coins were designed to show that none of the valuable metal had been shaved off the coin. Now, however, coins derive value simply by virtue of being declared [[legal tender]] by a government.
-The practice of debasing the currency by alloying the gold or silver with less valuable metals, in order to mint coins that had a lower intrinsic value, goes back at least to the Roman empire.
+# It must be made of a valuable material, and trade for close to the intrinsic value of that material.
+# It must be of a standardized weight and purity.
+# It must be marked to identify the authority that guarantees the content.
+By the above definition, the invention and first known usage of coins comes from the Kingdom of [[Lydia]] circa 600 BC.  Under three generations of Lydian kings, the money of Lydia gradually moved from being lumps of [[electrum]] (a mixture of silver and gold) to coins of a guaranteed weight and purity, marked with the seal of the King.  Coins also developed very close to this timeframe in [[India]] and [[China]].
-The front side of a coin, traditionally carrying a picture of the head of a monarch or other authority, is called the ''obverse'', or colloquially ''heads''.  The back side is called the ''reverse'', or colloquially ''tails''.
+<div style="float:right;">[[image:US_price_history.png]]</div>Throughout history governments have been tempted to create more coinage than their supply of precious metals would allow.  By replacing some fraction of a coin's precious metal content with a base metal, a government reduces the intrinsic value of the coins (thereby ''"debasing"'' their money) and can produce more coins then they could otherwise.  Debasement of currency almost always leads to inflation unless price controls are also instituted by the governing authorities.  Some consider a classic example of this phenomenon to be the behavior of price levels in the United States since 1964 when [[United States Coin]]s ceased to be minted of silver.
+The milled edges still found on many coins were designed to show that none of the valuable metal had been shaved off the coin.  The front side of a coin, traditionally carrying a picture of the head of a monarch or other authority, is called the ''obverse'', or colloquially ''heads''.  The back side is called the ''reverse'', or colloquially ''tails''.
 See also: [[Bill (currency)|Bill]], [[forgery]], [[British coinage]], [[Coinage Metals]], [[United States Coin]], [[Coin collecting]], [[Euro coinage]].