Emily Dickinson Lexicon

COIN, n.² [Sp. cuña; Port. cunho, a die to stamp money; Sp. acuñar, to coin or impress money, to wedge; Port. cunhar; It. conio, a die; coniare, to coin; Fr. coin; Ar. قَانَ kauna, to hammer, forge or stamp. The sense is, to strike, beat, or drive, coinciding with the French coigner, or cogner. Hence we see that coin, whether it signifies a corner, a wedge or a die, is from the same root, from thrusting, driving. Primarily, the die employed for stamping money. Hence,]

1. Money stamped; a piece of metal, as gold, silver, copper, or other metal, converted into money, by impressing on it marks, figures or characters. To make good money, these impressions must be made under the authority of government. That which is stamped without authority is called false or counterfeit coin. Formerly, all coin was made by hammering; but it is now impressed by a machine or mill. Current coin is coin legally stamped and circulating in trade. Ancient coins are chiefly those of the Jews, Greeks, and Romans, which are kept in cabinets as curiosities.
2. In Architecture, a kind of die cut diagonally, after the manner of a flight of a staircase, serving at bottom to support columns in a level, and at top to correct the inclination of an entablature supporting a vault. – Encyc.
3. That which serves for payment. The loss of present advantage to flesh and blood is repaid in a nobler coin. – Hammond.