Today's featured article
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The Gobrecht dollar, minted from 1836 to 1839, was the first silver dollar struck for circulation by the United States Mint after production of that denomination was officially halted in 1806. In 1835, Director of the United States Mint Robert M. Patterson began an attempt to redesign the nation's coinage. Christian Gobrecht was hired as an engraver. On August 1, Patterson wrote a letter to Philadelphia artist Thomas Sully laying out his plans for the dollar coin. He also asked Titian Peale to create a design for the coin. Sully created an obverse design depicting a seated representation of Liberty and Peale a reverse depicting a soaring bald eagle. After the designs were created and trials struck, production of the working dies began in September 1836. After a small quantity was struck for circulation, the Mint received complaints regarding the prominent placement of Gobrecht's name on the dollar, and the design was modified to incorporate his name in a less conspicuous position. In January 1837, the legal standard for the percentage of precious metal in silver coins was changed from 89.2% to 90%, and the Gobrecht dollars struck after that point reflect this change. In total, 1,900 Gobrecht dollars were struck during the official production run. (more...)
Recently featured: Battle of Milne Bay – Herne Hill railway station – Aiphanes
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On this day...
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August 27: Independence Day in Moldova (1991); National Heroes' Day in the Philippines (2012)
1832 – Black Hawk (pictured), leader of the Sauk tribe of Native Americans, surrendered to U.S. authorities, ending the Black Hawk War.
1927 – Five Canadian women filed a petition to ask the Supreme Court of Canada, "Does the word 'Persons' in Section 24 of the British North America Act, 1867, include female persons," to which the court eventually replied that it does not.
1957 – The Constitution of Malaya came into force, three days before the Federation of Malaya achieved formal independence from the United Kingdom.
1979 – In two separate attacks, IRA bombs killed 18 British soldiers near Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland, and British admiral Louis Mountbatten and three others in County Sligo, Republic of Ireland.
2003 – The planet Mars made its closest approach to Earth in nearly 60,000 years: 55,758,006 kilometres (34,646,419 mi).
2003 – The first round of six-party talks to find a peaceful resolution to the security concerns as a result of the North Korean nuclear weapons program opened.
More anniversaries: August 26 – August 27 – August 28
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