The Isabella quarter was a United States commemorative coin struck in
1893, and is the only U.S. commemorative quarter that was not intended
for circulation. It was authorized by Congress at the request of the
Board of Lady Managers of the World's Columbian Exposition. The Board
wanted a woman to design it, but the sculptor Caroline Peddle left the
project after disagreements with Bureau of the Mint officials, who then
decided to have the Mint's Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber do the work.
The coin depicts Queen Isabella of Spain, who sponsored Columbus's
voyages to the New World. The reverse, showing a kneeling woman winding
flax, symbolizes women's industry. The quarter's design was deprecated
in the numismatic press. The coins did not sell well at the Exposition;
its price of $1 was the same as for the Columbian half dollar and the
quarter was seen as the worse deal. Nearly half of the authorized issue
was returned to the Mint to be melted; thousands more were purchased at
face value by the Lady Managers and entered the coin market in the early
20th century. Today, they are popular with collectors and valued in the
hundreds to thousands of dollars.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_quarter>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1525:
Martin Luther married Katharina von Bora, against the celibacy
discipline decreed by the Roman Catholic Church for priests.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katharina_von_Bora>
1805:
The Lewis and Clark Expedition became the first European
Americans to sight the Great Falls of the Missouri River.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Falls_(Missouri_River)>
1970:
"The Long and Winding Road" became The Beatles' twentieth and
final number one single in the United States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Long_and_Winding_Road>
1983:
Pioneer 10 (Pioneer plaque pictured) passed the orbit of
Neptune, becoming the first man-made object to travel beyond the known
planets of the Solar System.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_10>
2007:
Former Iraqi government official Haitham al-Badri orchestrated
a second bombing of the al-Askari Mosque, one of the holiest sites in
Shia Islam.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_al-Askari_Mosque_bombing>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
soundly:
In a thorough manner; in manner free of defect or deficiency.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/soundly>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Man can embody truth but he cannot know it.
--William Butler Yeats
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Butler_Yeats>