The Eisenhower dollar is a one-dollar coin issued from 1971 to 1978 by the United States Mint. Authorized by law on December 31, 1970, it was the first US dollar coin minted since 1935, the last year of the Peace dollar. Designed by Frank Gasparro, the coin's obverse depicts President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who died in March 1969. Proposals in Congress to honor him on a coin led to a dispute over whether the new coin was to contain silver. In 1970, a compromise was reached to strike it in base metal for circulation, and in 40% silver as a collectible. Although the collector's pieces sold well, the new dollars failed to circulate, except in and around Nevada casinos, where they took the place of privately issued tokens. Coins from 1975 and 1976 bear a double date, 1776–1976, and a special reverse by Dennis R. Williams in honor of the Bicentennial. To replace the Eisenhower dollar with a smaller-sized piece, Congress authorized the Susan B. Anthony dollar, struck beginning in 1979, but that coin also failed to circulate.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisenhower_dollar
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
405 or 406:
The Vandals, Alans and Suebians crossed the Rhine River to begin an invasion of Gaul. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossing_of_the_Rhine
1857:
Queen Victoria selected Ottawa, then a small logging town, to be the capital of the British colony of Canada. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottawa
1907:
Times Square in New York City held its first New Year's Eve celebrations with the ball drop (2008 version pictured). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Times_Square_Ball
1972:
Puerto Rican baseball player Roberto Clemente died in a plane crash en route to deliver aid to victims of the Nicaragua earthquake. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Clemente
1998:
The European Exchange Rate Mechanism froze the values of the legacy currencies in the Eurozone and established the value of the euro currency. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
fireworks: 1. […] (plural only) An event or a display where fireworks are set off. 2. (plural only, figuratively) A boisterous or violent event or situation. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fireworks
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Life is a slow-motion avalanche, and none of us are steering. --Donald E. Westlake https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Donald_E._Westlake