The Gobrecht dollar, minted from 1836 to 1839, was the first silver
dollar struck for circulation by the United States Mint after production
of that denomination was officially halted in 1806. In 1835, Director of
the United States Mint Robert M. Patterson began an attempt to redesign
the nation's coinage. Christian Gobrecht was hired as an engraver. On
August 1, Patterson wrote a letter to Philadelphia artist Thomas Sully
laying out his plans for the dollar coin. He also asked Titian Peale to
create a design for the coin. Sully created an obverse design depicting
a seated representation of Liberty and Peale a reverse depicting a
soaring bald eagle. After the designs were created and trials struck,
production of the working dies began in September 1836. After a small
quantity was struck for circulation, the Mint received complaints
regarding the prominent placement of Gobrecht's name on the dollar, and
the design was modified to incorporate his name in a less conspicuous
position. In January 1837, the legal standard for the percentage of
precious metal in silver coins was changed from 89.2% to 90%, and the
Gobrecht dollars struck after that point reflect this change. In total,
1,900 Gobrecht dollars were struck during the official production run.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gobrecht_dollar>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1832:
Black Hawk (pictured), leader of the Sauk tribe of Native
Americans, surrendered to U.S. authorities, ending the Black Hawk War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hawk_War>
1927:
Five Canadian women filed a petition to ask the Supreme Court
of Canada, "Does the word 'Persons' in Section 24 of the British North
America Act, 1867, include female persons," to which the court
eventually replied that it does not.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Famous_Five_(Canada)>
1957:
The Constitution of Malaya came into force, three days before
the Federation of Malaya achieved formal independence from the United
Kingdom.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Malaysia>
1979:
In two separate attacks, IRA bombs killed 18 British soldiers
near Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland, and British admiral Louis
Mountbatten and three others in County Sligo, Ireland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Mountbatten,_1st_Earl_Mountbatten_of_Burma>
2003:
The planet Mars made its closest approach to Earth in nearly
60,000 years: 55,758,006 kilometres (34,646,419 mi).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars>
2003:
The first round of six-party talks to find a peaceful
resolution to the security concerns as a result of the North Korean
nuclear weapons program opened.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six-party_talks>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
anglicism:
A word or other feature originating in the English language that has
been borrowed by another language.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/anglicism>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
It is easier to discover a deficiency in individuals, in states, and in
providence, than to see their real import or value.
--Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Georg_Wilhelm_Friedrich_Hegel>