The three-cent nickel was designed by the US Mint's Chief Engraver James B. Longacre and struck by the mint from 1865 to 1889. When precious metal coinage was hoarded during the economic turmoil of the American Civil War, including the silver three-cent piece, and even the copper- nickel cent was commanding a premium, Congress issued paper money in denominations as small as three cents, but these small slips of paper became ragged and dirty. After the issue of a lighter bronze cent and a two-cent piece in 1864, there were proposals for a three-cent piece in copper-nickel. The advocates were led by Pennsylvania industrialist Joseph Wharton, who then controlled the domestic supply of nickel ore. On the last day of the congressional session, March 3, 1865, a bill for a three-cent piece in copper-nickel alloy was introduced in Congress, passed by both houses without debate, and signed by President Abraham Lincoln. Although initially popular, the three-cent nickel piece became less so with the introduction in 1866 of the five-cent nickel, a larger, more convenient coin, with a value better fitting the decimal system. After 1870, most years saw low annual mintages for the three-cent nickel, and in 1890 Congress abolished it.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-cent_nickel

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1284:

The Statute of Rhuddlan incorporated the Principality of Wales into England. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statute_of_Rhuddlan

1861:

The Emancipation Manifesto of Tsar Alexander II was proclaimed, abolishing serfdom in Imperial Russia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emancipation_reform_of_1861

1875:

The first indoor game of ice hockey was played at the Victoria Skating Rink in Montreal by James Creighton and McGill University students. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_indoor_hockey_game

1915:

The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), the predecessor of NASA, was founded. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Advisory_Committee_for_Aeronautics

1945:

A former Armia Krajowa unit massacred at least 150 Ukrainian civilians in Pawłokoma, Poland. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paw%C5%82okoma_massacre

2012:

Two passenger trains collided head-on near the town of Szczekociny in Poland, resulting in 16 deaths and 58 injuries. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Szczekociny_rail_crash

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

beey: (informal, rare) Reminiscent of or containing bees. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/beey

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

It is the human condition to question one god after another, one appearance after another, or better, one apparition after another, always pursuing the truth of the imagination, which is not the same as the truth of appearance.   --Émile Chartier https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/%C3%89mile_Chartier