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Author	Replies: 4 / Views: 1,038
TSOTL Valued Member United States 439 Posts	Posted 01/22/2007 6:29 pm Anyone know why they call them "proof" coins? I find myself wondering about this every once in a while for some reason and I figured I'd throw it out here. Why not "special finish" or "shiny" or something similarly descriptive? Where did the word proof come to play? It doesn't keep me up nights or anything but I still keep asking myself that question once in a while. Anyone? Report this Post to the Staff

Irishraider Pillar of the Community United States 1454 Posts	Posted 01/22/2007 6:51 pm This was pretty much all I was able to find: proof c.1225, preove, "evidence to establish the fact of (something)," from O.Fr. prueve (c.1224), from L.L. proba "a proof," a back-formation from L. probare "to prove" (see prove). Meaning "act of testing or making trial of anything" is from c.1380. Sense of "tested power" led to fireproof (early 17c.), waterproof (1736), foolproof (1902), etc. Meaning "standard of strength of distilled liquor" is from 1705. Typographical sense of "trial impression to test type" is from 1600; proofreader first attested 1832. Numismatic sense of "coin struck to test a die" is from 1762; now mostly in ref. to coins struck from highly polished dies, mainly for collectors. Here is the website: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=proof Report this Post to the Staff
tights24 Pillar of the Community United States 2254 Posts	Posted 01/23/2007 06:18 am Looks like the "dictionary" definition even included the reference to coins. In layman's terms, along with the dictionary, I would say that "proof" in essence means that "This is how they're supposed to look". Kind of like a proof photo in which to make prints or copies. IMO, I think it's just a "historical" fact of what something should look like. These days they are polished of course for collecting purposes, but I always thought of a proof as a "point of reference" for everything made to be like it in the future. Hopefully that makes sense to someone..... Report this Post to the Staff
edix Valued Member United States 270 Posts	Posted 01/23/2007 09:55 am Yes, they are "proved" to be of high quality. Hey, there's a contraption in printing called a "proof press." Report this Post to the Staff
Prethen Pillar of the Community United States 3234 Posts	Posted 01/23/2007 1:28 pm Proof coins are "proof of concept" coins. They prove that the design has been properly engraved and show every bit of detail. They used to be known as presentation coins and had some other names as well. Report this Post to the Staff
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