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Identifying milled coins

Machine-struck coinage from the 1600s onward — even, edged, and datable.

Milled coins are perfectly round with consistent thickness, and most carry a worked edge — reeding, lettering, or a decorative pattern — designed to defeat clippers. From the mid-17th century they replace hammered issues across Europe, and unlike most earlier coinage they usually carry an explicit date.

The date does the heavy lifting; the rest is mint marks, privy marks, and variety details that catalogues resolve. Worn examples still yield a ruler from the portrait and inscription. Check the edge specifically — a cast counterfeit often shows a seam there, or blurred edge lettering.

Condition drives collectability, but for the record what matters is honesty: note the date, mint mark, metal, weight, and wear. Resist cleaning — original surfaces, even darkly toned, are worth more historically and financially than polished ones.

From the guide library inside Collectors Catalogues, a free app for cataloguing antiques and finds with honest, museum-grade records.

More on coins

Identifying coins — Portrait, legend, and strike.

Identifying tokens and jettons — Not quite coins.

Identifying Roman silver coins — Denarii, antoniniani, and siliquae — and how to tell them apart.

Identifying Roman bronze coins — From heavy sestertii to tiny late-Roman nummi.

Identifying Greek coins — City badges, gods, and fabric — reading coins struck before Rome ruled.

Identifying Celtic coins — Abstract horses, wreaths, and heads — coinage reimagined by Iron Age artists.

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