The Maine Centennial half dollar is a commemorative coin struck in 1920 by the United States Bureau of the Mint. It was sculpted by Anthony de Francisci, following sketches by an unknown artist from the U.S. state of Maine. Officials in Maine wanted a commemorative half dollar to circulate as an advertisement for the centennial of the state's admission to the Union, and of the planned celebrations. Congress passed authorizing legislation without opposition. The Commission of Fine Arts urged changes in the design, but Maine officials insisted. The state decided to sell the coins at $1, double face value. Fifty thousand pieces, half the authorized mintage, were struck for release to the public, though they were issued too late to be sold at the centennial celebrations in Portland. The coins sold out, but this took at least until 1929. They list for hundreds to thousands of dollars, depending on condition.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine_Centennial_half_dollar

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1877:

An 8.5 Ms earthquake struck the northern portion of Chile, resulting in the death of 2,385 people, mostly victims of the ensuing tsunami as far away as Hawaii and Fiji. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1877_Iquique_earthquake

1955:

Kermit the Frog, the first and most famous Muppet by Jim Henson, made his debut on the television show Sam and Friends. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kermit_the_Frog

1979:

Prominent Iranian Jew Habib Elghanian was executed after having been convicted by a revolutionary tribunal of various charges, triggering a mass exodus of Jews from Iran. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habib_Elghanian

2001:

After a football match between Ghana's two most successful teams, police fired tear gas into the crowd to quell some unrest, causing a stampede that killed 126 people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accra_Sports_Stadium_disaster

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

system: 1. A collection of organized things; a whole composed of relationships among its members. 2. (derogatory) Preceded by the word the: the mainstream culture, controlled by the elites or government of a state, or a combination of them, seen as oppressive to the individual. 3. (computing) A set of hardware and software operating in a computer. 4. (mathematics) A set of equations involving the same variables, which are to be solved simultaneously. 5. (music) A set of staves linked by a brace that indicate instruments or sounds that are to be played simultaneously. 6. (physiology) A set of body organs having a particular function. 7. A method or way of organizing or planning. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/system

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Life today is the fruit of an interregnum, of an empty space between two organizations of historical rule — that which was, that which is to be. For this reason it is essentially provisional.   --José Ortega y Gasset https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Ortega_y_Gasset