privy mark

{{Short description|Identifying mark on coinage}}

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Image:Muntteken muntmeesterteken.png on a Dutch coin.]]

A privy mark was originally a small mark or differentiation in the design of a coin for the purpose of identifying the mint, moneyer, some other aspect of the coin's origin, or to prevent counterfeiting. One of the first instances of a privy mark used as a counterfeit measure was during the 17th century in a plan proposed by Sir Edward Ford to mint farthings, halfpence and three-farthings.{{Cite web|url=http://numismatics.org/digitallibrary/ark:/53695/nnan146999|title=ANS Digital Library: Mark Newby's St. Patrick coinage|website=numismatics.org|access-date=2018-06-22|archive-date=2018-06-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180623004935/http://numismatics.org/digitallibrary/ark:/53695/nnan146999|url-status=live}}

The main distinction between a privy mark and a mint mark lies in their purposes. Unlike a mint mark, which indicates the coin's place or source of minting, a privy mark may also indicate where a coin was minted and serves as a design and marketing element to honor a significant occasion or denote its inclusion in a specific collection.{{cn|date=July 2024}} Some privy marked coins{{Mdash}}such as the Canadian Silver Privy Marked Maple Leaf{{Mdash}}may sell at a premium.{{cn|date=July 2024}}