The Rhode Island Tercentenary half dollar is a commemorative fifty-cent
piece, struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1936. The coin
was designed by John Howard Benson and Arthur Graham Carey. Its obverse
(pictured) depicts Roger Williams, founder of the Colony of Rhode Island
and Providence Plantations, meeting a Native American. It was intended
to honor the 300th anniversary of Providence, Rhode Island, although it
bears no mention of the city. A total of 50,000 coins were struck at the
three mints then in operation. On March 5, 1936, Rhode Island banks
holding the coins announced that the entire issue had sold out within
six hours, but ample supplies proved to be available at higher prices
from insiders. Coin collectors were incensed, and the abuses led
Congress to end the authorization for outstanding commemorative coin
issues in 1939. Today the half dollars list for hundreds of dollars,
depending on condition.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhode_Island_Tercentenary_half_dollar>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1865:
American author Mark Twain's story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog
of Calaveras County", his first great success as a writer, was
published.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Celebrated_Jumping_Frog_of_Calaveras_County>
1956:
In the Polish embassy in Moscow, Soviet leader Nikita
Khrushchev said "We will bury you" while addressing Western envoys,
prompting them to leave the room.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_will_bury_you>
1978:
Jim Jones led more than 900 members of the Peoples Temple to
mass murder/suicide in Jonestown, Guyana, hours after some of its
members assassinated U.S. Congressman Leo Ryan (pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Ryan>
1991:
The current flag of Uzbekistan was adopted, making the country
the first newly independent republic in Central Asia to choose a new
flag.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Uzbekistan>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
marocain:
A heavy crepe fabric of silk, wool, or both, having a cross-ribbed
texture, used for apparel.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/marocain>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
I believe that all other political states are in fact variations
or outgrowths of a basic state of anarchy; after all, when you mention
the idea of anarchy to most people they will tell you what a bad idea it
is because the biggest gang would just take over. Which is pretty much
how I see contemporary society. We live in a badly developed anarchist
situation in which the biggest gang has taken over and have declared
that it is not an anarchist situation— that it is a capitalist or a
communist situation. But I tend to think that anarchy is the most
natural form of politics for a human being to actually practice.
--Alan Moore
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alan_Moore>