Coin clipping is the act of shaving off a small portion of a precious metal coin for profit. It was a form of coin debasement that involved physically removing small amounts of official gold and silver coinage to melt down for profit. This practice was widespread in the 1600s and was considered a criminal act because it devalued the worth of coins, which was measured by their gold or silver content. Coin clipping was achieved by shearing off small portions or filing down the coin edges. It was usually considered by the law to be of a similar magnitude to counterfeiting and was occasionally punished by death. The practice of coin clipping has been abandoned, and modern coins used as currency are made of hard, cheap metals, reducing wear and making it difficult and unprofitable to debase them