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V19 2016 INDEX       E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 19, Number 33, August 14, 2016, Article 13

NUMISMATIC VOCABULARY: BOGUS

Mary Lannin forwarded the August 8, 2016 Word of the Day from Merriam-Webster. Thanks! -Editor

bogus
adjective | BOH-gus

Definition

: not genuine : counterfeit, sham

You may know bogus as a slang word meaning "uncool" or simply "no good," but did you know that bogus has actually been a part of English since the early 1800s? Not only was the word coined then, it was actually doing some coining of its own, so to speak. Back then, a bogus was a machine used to make counterfeit coins. No one knows for sure how this coin-copying contraption got its name, but before long bogus had also become a popular noun for funny money itself or for a fraudulent imitation of any kind. The more general "phony" adjective began being used about the same time.

I thought I knew a lot of numismatic words, but I didn't know that one. Can anyone point us to a contemporary example of the use of the word in this context? What did a bogus look like? -Editor
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Wayne Homren, Editor

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