The trade dollar was a United States dollar coin minted to compete with
other large silver coins that were already popular in the Orient. The
idea first came about in the 1860s, when the price of silver began to
decline due to increased mining efforts in the western United States.
The Coinage Act of 1873 made trade dollars legal tender up to five
dollars. The coins were first struck in 1873, and most of the
production was sent to China. Eventually, bullion producers began
converting large amounts of silver into trade dollars, causing the
coins to make their way into American commercial channels. This caused
frustration among those who were given them in payment, as the coins
were largely maligned and traded for less than one dollar each. In
response to their wide distribution in American commerce, the coins
were officially demonetized in 1876, but continued to circulate.
Production of business strikes ended in 1878, though the mintage of
proof coins continued until 1883. The trade dollar was remonetized when
the Coinage Act of 1965 was signed into law.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_dollar_%28United_States_coin%29>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1865:
The first ascent of the Matterhorn marked the end of the golden age of
alpinism.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_ascent_of_the_Matterhorn>
1950:
In an early battle of the Korean War, North Korean troops began
attacking the headquarters of the American 24th Infantry Division in
Taejon, South Korea.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Taejon>
1957:
Rawya Ateya took her seat in the National Assembly of Egypt to become
the first female parliamentarian in the Arab world.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rawya_Ateya>
1960:
English primatologist Jane Goodall arrived in Gombe Stream Chimpanzee
Reserve, Tanganyika, to begin her groundbreaking study of the social
and family interactions of wild chimpanzees.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Goodall>
1987:
Over 100 mm (3.9 in) of rain fell in a two-and-a-half-hour period in
Montreal, causing severe flooding and over CA$220 million in damages.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_Flood_of_1987>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
bastille (n):
1. A castle tower; a reinforced tower, a small fortress.
2. A prison
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bastille>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Freedom is not an exchange — it is freedom.
--André Malraux
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_Malraux>