The Cincinnati Musical Center half dollar is a commemorative coin that was authorized on March 31, 1936, and struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint that year. Produced with the stated purpose of commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of Cincinnati as a center of music, it was conceived by Thomas G. Melish, a coin enthusiast whose group bought the entire issue from the government, and who resold them at high prices. Melish had hired sculptor Constance Ortmayer to design the coin, but the Commission of Fine Arts objected to Stephen Foster being on the obverse, finding no connection between Foster, who died in 1864, and the supposed anniversary. Nevertheless, 5,000 sets of three coins, one from each of the three mints, were issued and sold to Melish's group, the only authorized purchaser. He likely held back much of the issue for later resale, and with few pieces available, prices spiked to over five times the issue price. The coins are still valuable today. Melish has been assailed by numismatic writers as greedy.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cincinnati_Musical_Center_half_dollar
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1492:
The Catholic Monarchs of Spain issued the Alhambra Decree, ordering all Jews to convert to Christianity or be expelled from the country. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alhambra_Decree
1889:
The Eiffel Tower was inaugurated in Paris, becoming a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eiffel_Tower
1942:
Second World War: Because of a mutiny by Indian soldiers against their British officers, Japanese troops captured Christmas Island without any resistance. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Christmas_Island
1970:
Nine Japanese communists armed with samurai swords and pipe bombs hijacked Japan Airlines Flight 351 on its way from from Tokyo to Fukuoka. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Airlines_Flight_351
1992:
The USS Missouri, the last active United States Navy battleship, was decommissioned in Long Beach, California. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Missouri_(BB-63)
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
moly cow: (chemistry, medicine, informal) A device used to extract from a source of decaying molybdenum-99 the metastable isotope 99mTc of technetium, which is the most commonly used medical radioisotope. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/moly_cow
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Everything free and decent in life is being locked away in filthy little cellars by beastly people who don’t care. --John Fowles https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Fowles
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