This section is from the book "The Home Cyclopedia Of General Information", by Charles Morris. Also available from Amazon: Home Cyclopedia of Necessary Knowledge.
[Fr., from L. cuneus, a wedge.] A piece of metal stamped to be used for money. It is round, flat, bright, hard, and durable. Alloys of the metals are generally used. They are melted into ingots, rolled into ribbons to the required thickness, and punched, rounded, milled, and stamped with a die and counter-die, and weighed.
 
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