100px|Liberty head nickle, observe side, showing Liberty wearing a coronet and wreath

The Liberty Head nickel was an American five-cent piece. It was struck for circulation from 1883 until 1912, with at least five pieces being surreptitiously struck dated 1913. The original copper–nickel five-cent piece, the Shield nickel, had longstanding production problems, and in the early 1880s, the United States Mint was looking to replace it. Mint Chief Engraver Charles Barber was instructed to prepare designs for proposed one-, three-, and five-cent pieces, which were to bear similar designs. Only the new five-cent piece was approved, and went into production in 1883. For almost thirty years large quantities of coin of this design were produced to meet commercial demand, especially as coin-operated machines became increasingly popular. Beginning in 1911, the Mint began work to replace the Liberty head design, and a new design, which became known as the Buffalo nickel, went into production in February 1913. Although no 1913 Liberty head nickels were officially struck, five are known to exist. While it is uncertain how these pieces originated, they have come to be among the most expensive coins in the world, with one selling in 2010 for $3,737,500. (more...)

Recently featured: Cyathus – Battle of Rennell Island – Otto Julius Zobel

Archive – By email – More featured articles...

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_Head_nickel

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1747:

The London Lock Hospital, the first clinic specialising in the treatment of venereal diseases, opened. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Lock_Hospital

1919:

Intense rioting over labour conditions broke out in Glasgow, Scotland, and was only quelled when the British government sent tanks to restore order. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_George_Square

1942:

Second World War: Allied forces retreated from British Malaya to Singapore, ceding control of the country to Japan. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malayan_Campaign

1961:

Aboard NASA's Mercury-Redstone 2, Ham the Chimp became the first hominid launched into outer space. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ham_the_Chimp

1996:

Japanese amateur astronomer Yuji Hyakutake discovered Comet Hyakutake, which was one of the closest cometary approaches of the previous 200 years. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_Hyakutake

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

avant-garde (n): Any group of people who invent or promote new techniques or concepts, especially in the arts http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/avant-garde

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Attunement could occur through any of the great religions, but would be tied exclusively to none of them. A person could be attuned to an "integral spirituality" while still be a practicing Christian, Buddhist, New-Age advocate, or Neopagan. This would be something added to one's religion, not subtracted from it. The only thing it would subtract (and there's no way around this) is the belief that one's own path is the only true path to salvation. --Ken Wilber http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ken_Wilber