The Flowing Hair dollar was the first dollar coin issued by the United States federal government. Minted in 1794 and 1795, the size and weight of the coin were based on the Spanish dollar, which was popular in trade throughout the Americas. In 1791, following a study by Alexander Hamilton, Congress passed a joint resolution calling for the establishment of a national mint. Later that year, in his third State of the Union address, President George Washington urged Congress to provide for a mint, which was officially authorized by the Coinage Act of 1792. Despite the authorization, silver and gold coins were not struck until 1794. The Flowing Hair dollar, designed by Robert Scot, was initially produced in 1794, and again in 1795. In October 1795 the design was replaced by the Draped Bust dollar. In May 2010, a specimen striking from the 1794 production was sold in a private sale for $7.85 million, the highest selling price of any coin in history.
Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flowing_Hair_dollar
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1471:
Wars of the Roses: Yorkist Edward IV defeated a Lancastrian army in the Battle of Tewkesbury. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tewkesbury
1814:
Ferdinand VII abolished the Spanish Constitution of 1812, returning Spain to absolutism. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Constitution_of_1812
1942:
World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy engaged Allied naval forces at the Battle of the Coral Sea, the first fleet action in which aircraft carriers engaged each other, and the first naval battle in history in which neither side's ships sighted or fired directly upon the other. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Coral_Sea
1970:
The Ohio National Guard opened fire at Kent State University students protesting the United States invasion of Cambodia, killing four and injuring nine. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_State_shootings
1979:
Margaret Thatcher became the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, following the defeat of James Callaghan's incumbent Labour government in the previous day's general election. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Thatcher
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
vestiary (adj): Pertaining to clothing; sartorial http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vestiary
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
If any man seeks for greatness, let him forget greatness and ask for truth, and he will find both. --Horace Mann http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Horace_Mann