Forgery and Coin Clipping

A strong thieves' guild may regulate the activities of forgers and "clippers", to keep the proportion of forgeries and clippings within reasonable limits. If there are too many forgeries floating around, the value of coin will sharply deteriorate, to no one's benefit (including the thieves). Clipping is simply the art of shaving fine slivers from the edges of coins and using the salvaged metal for subsequent coin-forging or for other purposes. A shaved-off margin of some 5% from the original is usually fairly undetectable, but coins may be clipped several times during their lifetime! In advanced societies in the campaign world, the dies used to make coins may have milled or marked edges to prevent clipping.

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