The New Rochelle 250th Anniversary half dollar is a fifty-cent piece struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1937 as a commemorative coin to mark the 250th anniversary of the settling of New Rochelle in Westchester County, New York. The coin's obverse (pictured) depicts a fatted calf being led by John Pell, who sold the land on which New Rochelle now stands; a "fatt calfe" was to be presented to him annually on June 24 if he asked for it, lest New Rochelle's land be forfeited back to him. The other side shows a fleur-de-lis, an element of the city seal of New Rochelle and of France's La Rochelle, its eponym. The piece is dated 1938 but was minted the previous year. Artist Gertrude K. Lathrop designed the coin; she was hired based on her work on the 1936 Albany Charter half dollar. New Rochelle's coin committee sold the half dollar for $2.00 both locally and by mail order, sending them to all 48 states and internationally, distributing them during 1937 and early 1938. Lathrop's work has been both praised and criticized by numismatic commentators.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Rochelle_250th_Anniversary_half_dollar

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1812:

Napoleonic Wars: Led by Napoleon, the French Grande Armée crossed the Neman, beginning their invasion of Russia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_invasion_of_Russia

1880:

"O Canada" (audio featured), the present-day national anthem of Canada, was first performed in Quebec City during a Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day banquet. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_Canada

1937:

The U.S. Navy's first two fast battleships, North Carolina and Washington of the North Carolina class, were ordered from the New York and Philadelphia Naval Shipyards, respectively. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Carolina-class_battleship

2010:

John Isner defeated Nicolas Mahut at the Wimbledon Championships, concluding the longest match in tennis history, which lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes over three days. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isner%E2%80%93Mahut_match_at_the_2010_Wimbledon_Championships

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

adynaton: (rhetoric) A form of hyperbole that uses exaggeration so magnified as to express impossibility; an instance of such hyperbole. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/adynaton

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Well, I play purely from the heart, y'know, and so if it doesn't work the first couple of hours, forget it. Unless we feel like we're somehow on the right track then I'll keep on going. That's it, really; I don't have any magic where I just press a button and it happens. It'll either happen or it won't.   --Jeff Beck https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jeff_Beck