The Washington quarter is the present quarter dollar or 25-cent piece issued by the United States Mint. The coin was first struck in 1932; the original version was designed by sculptor John Flanagan. The new silver quarters entered circulation on August 1, 1932; they were struck in that metal until the Mint transitioned to copper-nickel clad coinage in 1965. A special reverse commemorating the United States Bicentennial was used in 1975 and 1976, with all pieces bearing the double date 1776–1976; there are no 1975-dated quarters. Since 1999, the original eagle reverse has not been used; instead that side of the quarter has commemorated the 50 states, the nation's other jurisdictions, and National Park Service sites—the last as part of the ongoing America the Beautiful Quarters series, which will continue until 2021. The bust of Washington was made smaller beginning in 1999; in 2010 it was restored to bring out greater detail.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_quarter
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
618:
Li Yuan became Emperor Gaozu of Tang (pictured), initiating three centuries of the Tang Dynasty in China. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tang_Dynasty
1815:
War of the Seventh Coalition: Napoleon Bonaparte fought and lost his final battle, the Battle of Waterloo in present-day Belgium. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Waterloo
1858:
Charles Darwin received a manuscript by fellow naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace on natural selection, which prompted Darwin to publish his theory of evolution. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Russel_Wallace
1908:
The University of the Philippines, the national university of the Philippines, was established. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_the_Philippines
1983:
Aboard Space Shuttle Challenger, astronaut Sally Ride became the first American woman in space. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sally_Ride
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
chiaroscuro: An artistic technique developed during the Renaissance, referring to the use of exaggerated light contrasts in order to create the illusion of volume. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chiaroscuro
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
I believe we are born with our minds open to wonderful experiences, and only slowly learn to limit ourselves to narrow tastes. We are taught to lose our curiosity by the bludgeon-blows of mass marketing, which brainwash us to see "hits," and discourage exploration. --Roger Ebert https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Roger_Ebert
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