1.
United States dollar
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The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States and its insular territories per the United States Constitution. It is divided into 100 smaller cent units, the circulating paper money consists of Federal Reserve Notes that are denominated in United States dollars. The U. S. dollar was originally commodity money of silver as enacted by the Coinage Act of 1792 which determined the dollar to be 371 4/16 grain pure or 416 grain standard silver, the currency most used in international transactions, it is the worlds primary reserve currency. Several countries use it as their currency, and in many others it is the de facto currency. Besides the United States, it is used as the sole currency in two British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean, the British Virgin Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands. A few countries use the Federal Reserve Notes for paper money, while the country mints its own coins, or also accepts U. S. coins that can be used as payment in U. S. dollars. After Nixon shock of 1971, USD became fiat currency, Article I, Section 8 of the U. S. Constitution provides that the Congress has the power To coin money, laws implementing this power are currently codified at 31 U. S. C. Section 5112 prescribes the forms in which the United States dollars should be issued and these coins are both designated in Section 5112 as legal tender in payment of debts. The Sacagawea dollar is one example of the copper alloy dollar, the pure silver dollar is known as the American Silver Eagle. Section 5112 also provides for the minting and issuance of other coins and these other coins are more fully described in Coins of the United States dollar. The Constitution provides that a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and that provision of the Constitution is made specific by Section 331 of Title 31 of the United States Code. The sums of money reported in the Statements are currently being expressed in U. S. dollars, the U. S. dollar may therefore be described as the unit of account of the United States. The word dollar is one of the words in the first paragraph of Section 9 of Article I of the Constitution, there, dollars is a reference to the Spanish milled dollar, a coin that had a monetary value of 8 Spanish units of currency, or reales. In 1792 the U. S. Congress passed a Coinage Act, Section 20 of the act provided, That the money of account of the United States shall be expressed in dollars, or units. And that all accounts in the offices and all proceedings in the courts of the United States shall be kept and had in conformity to this regulation. In other words, this act designated the United States dollar as the unit of currency of the United States, unlike the Spanish milled dollar the U. S. dollar is based upon a decimal system of values. Both one-dollar coins and notes are produced today, although the form is significantly more common
2.
Gram
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The gram is a metric system unit of mass. Originally defined as the weight of a volume of pure water equal to the cube of the hundredth part of a metre. The only unit symbol for gram that is recognised by the International System of Units is g following the numeric value with a space, the SI does not support the use of abbreviations such as gr, gm or Gm. The word gramme was adopted by the French National Convention in its 1795 decree revising the system as replacing the gravet introduced in 1793. Its definition remained that of the weight of a centimetre of water. French gramme was taken from the Late Latin term gramma and this word, ultimately from Greek γράμμα letter had adopted a specialised meaning in Late Antiquity of one twenty-fourth part of an ounce, corresponding to about 1.14 grams. This use of the term is found in the carmen de ponderibus et mensuris composed around 400 AD, the gram was the fundamental unit of mass in the 19th-century centimetre–gram–second system of units. The gram is today the most widely used unit of measurement for non-liquid ingredients in cooking and grocery shopping worldwide. 1 gram =15.4323583529 grains 1 grain =0.06479891 grams 1 avoirdupois ounce =28.349523125 grams 1 troy ounce =31.1034768 grams 100 grams =3.527396195 ounces 1 gram =5 carats 1 gram =8. 1 gram is roughly equal to 1 small paper clip or pen cap, the Japanese 1 yen coin has a mass of one gram. Conversion of units Duella Gold gram Orders of magnitude Gram at Encyclopædia Britannica
3.
Gold
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Gold is a chemical element with symbol Au and atomic number 79. In its purest form, it is a bright, slightly yellow, dense, soft, malleable. Chemically, gold is a metal and a group 11 element. It is one of the least reactive chemical elements and is solid under standard conditions, Gold often occurs in free elemental form, as nuggets or grains, in rocks, in veins, and in alluvial deposits. It occurs in a solid solution series with the element silver and also naturally alloyed with copper. Less commonly, it occurs in minerals as gold compounds, often with tellurium, golds atomic number of 79 makes it one of the higher numbered, naturally occurring elements. It is thought to have produced in supernova nucleosynthesis, from the collision of neutron stars. Because the Earth was molten when it was formed, almost all of the present in the early Earth probably sank into the planetary core. Gold is resistant to most acids, though it does dissolve in aqua regia, a mixture of acid and hydrochloric acid. Gold also dissolves in solutions of cyanide, which are used in mining and electroplating. Gold dissolves in mercury, forming amalgam alloys, but this is not a chemical reaction, as a precious metal, gold has been used for coinage, jewelry, and other arts throughout recorded history. A total of 186,700 tonnes of gold is in existence above ground, the world consumption of new gold produced is about 50% in jewelry, 40% in investments, and 10% in industry. Gold is also used in infrared shielding, colored-glass production, gold leafing, certain gold salts are still used as anti-inflammatories in medicine. As of 2014, the worlds largest gold producer by far was China with 450 tonnes, Gold is cognate with similar words in many Germanic languages, deriving via Proto-Germanic *gulþą from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰelh₃-. The symbol Au is from the Latin, aurum, the Latin word for gold, the Proto-Indo-European ancestor of aurum was *h₂é-h₂us-o-, meaning glow. This word is derived from the root as *h₂éu̯sōs, the ancestor of the Latin word Aurora. This etymological relationship is presumably behind the frequent claim in scientific publications that aurum meant shining dawn, Gold is the most malleable of all metals, a single gram can be beaten into a sheet of 1 square meter, and an avoirdupois ounce into 300 square feet. Gold leaf can be thin enough to become semi-transparent
4.
Silver
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Silver is a metallic element with symbol Ag and atomic number 47. The symbol Ag stems from Latin argentum, derived from the Greek ὰργὀς, a soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. The metal is found in the Earths crust in the pure, free form, as an alloy with gold and other metals. Most silver is produced as a byproduct of copper, gold, lead, Silver is more abundant than gold, but it is much less abundant as a native metal. Its purity is measured on a per mille basis, a 94%-pure alloy is described as 0.940 fine. As one of the seven metals of antiquity, silver has had a role in most human cultures. Silver has long valued as a precious metal. Silver metal is used in many premodern monetary systems in bullion coins, Silver is used in numerous applications other than currency, such as solar panels, water filtration, jewelry, ornaments, high-value tableware and utensils, and as an investment medium. Silver is used industrially in electrical contacts and conductors, in specialized mirrors, window coatings, Silver compounds are used in photographic film and X-rays. Dilute silver nitrate solutions and other compounds are used as disinfectants and microbiocides, added to bandages and wound-dressings, catheters. Silver is similar in its physical and chemical properties to its two neighbours in group 11 of the periodic table, copper and gold. This distinctive electron configuration, with an electron in the highest occupied s subshell over a filled d subshell. Silver is a soft, ductile and malleable transition metal. Silver crystallizes in a cubic lattice with bulk coordination number 12. Unlike metals with incomplete d-shells, metallic bonds in silver are lacking a covalent character and are relatively weak and this observation explains the low hardness and high ductility of single crystals of silver. Silver has a brilliant white metallic luster that can take a polish. Protected silver has greater optical reflectivity than aluminium at all wavelengths longer than ~450 nm, at wavelengths shorter than 450 nm, silvers reflectivity is inferior to that of aluminium and drops to zero near 310 nm. The electrical conductivity of silver is the greatest of all metals, greater even than copper, during World War II in the US,13540 tons of silver were used in electromagnets for enriching uranium, mainly because of the wartime shortage of copper
5.
Copper
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Copper is a chemical element with symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of copper has a reddish-orange color. Copper is one of the few metals that occur in nature in directly usable metallic form as opposed to needing extraction from an ore and this led to very early human use, from c.8000 BC. Copper used in buildings, usually for roofing, oxidizes to form a green verdigris, Copper is sometimes used in decorative art, both in its elemental metal form and in compounds as pigments. Copper compounds are used as agents, fungicides, and wood preservatives. Copper is essential to all living organisms as a trace dietary mineral because it is a key constituent of the enzyme complex cytochrome c oxidase. In molluscs and crustaceans, copper is a constituent of the blood pigment hemocyanin, replaced by the hemoglobin in fish. In humans, copper is found mainly in the liver, muscle, the adult body contains between 1.4 and 2.1 mg of copper per kilogram of body weight. The filled d-shells in these elements contribute little to interatomic interactions, unlike metals with incomplete d-shells, metallic bonds in copper are lacking a covalent character and are relatively weak. This observation explains the low hardness and high ductility of single crystals of copper, at the macroscopic scale, introduction of extended defects to the crystal lattice, such as grain boundaries, hinders flow of the material under applied stress, thereby increasing its hardness. For this reason, copper is supplied in a fine-grained polycrystalline form. The softness of copper partly explains its high conductivity and high thermal conductivity. The maximum permissible current density of copper in open air is approximately 3. 1×106 A/m2 of cross-sectional area, Copper is one of a few metallic elements with a natural color other than gray or silver. Pure copper is orange-red and acquires a reddish tarnish when exposed to air, as with other metals, if copper is put in contact with another metal, galvanic corrosion will occur. A green layer of verdigris can often be seen on old structures, such as the roofing of many older buildings. Copper tarnishes when exposed to sulfur compounds, with which it reacts to form various copper sulfides. There are 29 isotopes of copper, 63Cu and 65Cu are stable, with 63Cu comprising approximately 69% of naturally occurring copper, both have a spin of 3⁄2
6.
Bust (sculpture)
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A bust is a sculpted or cast representation of the upper part of the human figure, depicting a persons head and neck, and a variable portion of the chest and shoulders. The piece is supported by a plinth. These forms recreate the likeness of an individual and these may be of any medium used for sculpture, such as marble, bronze, terracotta or wood. A parallel term, aust, is a representation of the part of an animal or mythical creature. Sculptural portrait heads from classical antiquity are sometimes displayed as busts, however, these are often fragments from full-body statues, or were created to be inserted into an existing body, these portrait heads are not included in this article. Herma Portraiture Livius. org, Bust gallery of famous ancient Greeks Oxford definition Dictionary. com definition
7.
Charles E. Barber
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Charles Edward Barber was the sixth Chief Engraver of the United States Mint from 1879 until his death in 1917. Although Barbers coins were met with mixed reviews, he had a long and fruitful career in coinage, Barber did full coin designs and also reverse designs. Barber was born in London in 1840, the son of William Barber, in 1869, he was an assistant engraver at the United States Mint. In 1879, he succeeded his father, in the position as chief engraver, Barbers best-known designs are the eponymous Barber Barber dime, Barber quarter, and Barber half dollar, as well as the so-called V Liberty Head nickel. Some lesser known pattern coin designs by Barber include the trial copper-nickel cent, trial three-cent piece, and the $4 Stella Flowing Hair pieces. Citing the impracticality of the design, he was critical of Augustus St. Gaudens proposed high relief pattern for a new double eagle in 1908. Barber was succeeded as Chief Engraver by George T. Morgan
8.
George T. Morgan
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George T. Morgan was an English United States Mint engraver, who is famous for designing many popular coins, such as the Morgan dollar, and the Columbian half dollar. Born in Birmingham, England, Morgan studied in England, Morgan came to the United States from England in 1876 and was hired as an assistant engraver at the Mint in October of that year under William Barber. He figured very prominently in the production of coins from 1877 onward. Morgan designed several varieties of 1877 half dollars, the 1879 Schoolgirl dollar, eventually, Morgan took the role of seventh Chief Engraver following the death of Charles E. Barber in February 1917. Morgan is most famous for designing the Morgan dollar, one of many namesakes, gibbs, William T. Morgans half dollars. Coin World, 4–5,14,20,22,24,28,32,36,40, the Private Sketchbook of George T. Morgan
9.
Star
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A star is a luminous sphere of plasma held together by its own gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, many other stars are visible to the naked eye from Earth during the night, appearing as a multitude of fixed luminous points in the sky due to their immense distance from Earth. Historically, the most prominent stars were grouped into constellations and asterisms, astronomers have assembled star catalogues that identify the known stars and provide standardized stellar designations. However, most of the stars in the Universe, including all stars outside our galaxy, indeed, most are invisible from Earth even through the most powerful telescopes. Almost all naturally occurring elements heavier than helium are created by stellar nucleosynthesis during the stars lifetime, near the end of its life, a star can also contain degenerate matter. Astronomers can determine the mass, age, metallicity, and many properties of a star by observing its motion through space, its luminosity. The total mass of a star is the factor that determines its evolution. Other characteristics of a star, including diameter and temperature, change over its life, while the environment affects its rotation. A plot of the temperature of stars against their luminosities produces a plot known as a Hertzsprung–Russell diagram. Plotting a particular star on that allows the age and evolutionary state of that star to be determined. A stars life begins with the collapse of a gaseous nebula of material composed primarily of hydrogen, along with helium. When the stellar core is sufficiently dense, hydrogen becomes steadily converted into helium through nuclear fusion, the remainder of the stars interior carries energy away from the core through a combination of radiative and convective heat transfer processes. The stars internal pressure prevents it from collapsing further under its own gravity, a star with mass greater than 0.4 times the Suns will expand to become a red giant when the hydrogen fuel in its core is exhausted. In some cases, it will fuse heavier elements at the core or in shells around the core, as the star expands it throws a part of its mass, enriched with those heavier elements, into the interstellar environment, to be recycled later as new stars. Meanwhile, the core becomes a remnant, a white dwarf. Binary and multi-star systems consist of two or more stars that are bound and generally move around each other in stable orbits. When two such stars have a close orbit, their gravitational interaction can have a significant impact on their evolution. Stars can form part of a much larger gravitationally bound structure, historically, stars have been important to civilizations throughout the world
10.
Coins of the United States dollar
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Coins of the United States dollar were first minted in 1792. New coins have been produced annually since then and they make up an aspect of the United States currency system. Today, circulating coins exist in denominations of 1¢, 5¢, 10¢, 25¢, 50¢, also minted are bullion and commemorative coins. All of these are produced by the United States Mint, the coins are then sold to Federal Reserve Banks which in turn are responsible for putting coins into circulation and withdrawing them as demanded by the countrys economy. Today four mints operate in the United States producing billions of coins each year, the main mint is the Philadelphia Mint, which produces circulating coinage, mint sets and some commemorative coins. The Denver Mint also produces circulating coinage, mint sets and commemoratives, the San Francisco Mint produces regular and silver proof coinage, and produced circulating coinage until the 1970s. The West Point Mint produces bullion coinage, Philadelphia and Denver produce the dies used at all of the mints. The proof and mint sets are manufactured each year and contain examples of all of the circulating coins. The producing mint of each coin may be identified, as most coins bear a mint mark. The identifying letter of the mint can be found on the front side of most coins, unmarked coins are issued by the Philadelphia mint. The mass and composition of the cent changed to the current copper plated zinc core in 1982, both types were minted in 1982 with no distinguishing mark. Cents minted in 1943 were struck on planchets punched from zinc coated steel which left the resulting edges uncoated and this caused many of these coins to rust. These steel pennies are not likely to be found in circulation today, the wheat cent was mainstream and common during its time. Some dates are rare, but many can still be found in circulation, nickels produced from mid-1942 through 1945 were manufactured from 56% copper, 35% silver and 9% manganese. This allowed the saved nickel metal to be shifted to production of military supplies during World War II. Few of these are found in circulation. Prior to 1965 and passage of the Coinage Act of 1965 the composition of the dime, quarter, half-dollar and dollar coins was 90% silver, the half-dollar continued to be minted in a 40% silver-clad composition between 1965 and 1970. Dimes and quarters from before 1965 and half-dollars from before 1971 are generally not in circulation due to being removed for their silver content, in 1975 and 1976 bicentennial coinage was minted
11.
Dollar
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Dollar is the name of more than twenty currencies, including those of the United States, Canada, Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, Liberia, Jamaica and Namibia. Generally, one dollar is divided into one hundred cents, on 15 January 1520, the Czech Kingdom of Bohemia began minting coins from silver mined locally in Joachimsthal and marked on reverse with the Czech lion. The coins were called joachimsthaler, which became shortened in common usage to thaler or taler, the German name Joachimsthal literally means Joachims valley or Joachims dale. A later Dutch coin also depicting a lion was called the leeuwendaler or leeuwendaalder, the Dutch Republic produced these coins to accommodate its booming international trade. The leeuwendaler circulated throughout the Middle East and was imitated in several German and Italian cities and this coin was also popular in the Dutch East Indies and in the Dutch New Netherland Colony. It was in throughout the Thirteen Colonies during the 17th. The currencies of Romania and Bulgaria are, to this day, the modern American-English pronunciation of dollar is still remarkably close to the 17th century Dutch pronunciation of daler. Some well-worn examples circulating in the Colonies were known as dog dollars, Spanish pesos – having the same weight and shape – came to be known as Spanish dollars. By the time of the American Revolution, Spanish dollars gained significance because they backed paper money authorized by the individual colonies, common in the Thirteen Colonies, Spanish dollars were even legal tender in one colony, Virginia. On April 2,1792, U. S. Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton reported to Congress the precise amount of found in Spanish dollar coins in common use in the states. As a result, the United States dollar was defined as a unit of silver weighing 371 4/16th grains. It was specified that the money of account of the United States should be expressed in those same dollars or parts thereof, in an act passed in January 1837, the dollars alloy was set at 15%. Subsequent coins would contain the amount of pure silver as previously. On February 21,1853, the quantity of silver in the coins was reduced. However, the dollars constitutional meaning has remained unchanged through the years, silver was mostly removed from U. S. coinage by 1965 and the dollar became a free-floating fiat currency without a commodity backing defined in terms of real gold or silver. The US Mint continues to make silver $1-denomination coins, but these are not intended for general circulation, there are many quotes in the plays of William Shakespeare referring to dollars as money. This might be supported by a reference to the sum of ten dollars in Macbeth. In 1804, a British five-shilling piece, or crown, was sometimes called dollar and it was an overstruck Spanish eight real coin, the original of which was known as a Spanish dollar
12.
Currency
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A currency in the most specific use of the word refers to money in any form when in actual use or circulation as a medium of exchange, especially circulating banknotes and coins. A more general definition is that a currency is a system of money in common use, under this definition, US dollars, British pounds, Australian dollars, and European euros are examples of currency. These various currencies are recognized stores of value and are traded between nations in exchange markets, which determine the relative values of the different currencies. Currencies in this sense are defined by governments, and each type has limited boundaries of acceptance, other definitions of the term currency are discussed in their respective synonymous articles banknote, coin, and money. The latter definition, pertaining to the systems of nations, is the topic of this article. Currencies can be classified into two systems, fiat money and commodity money, depending on what guarantees the value. Some currencies are legal tender in certain jurisdictions, which means they cannot be refused as payment for debt. Others are simply traded for their economic value, digital currency has arisen with the popularity of computers and the Internet. Currency evolved from two basic innovations, both of which had occurred by 2000 BC, originally money was a form of receipt, representing grain stored in temple granaries in Sumer in ancient Mesopotamia, then Ancient Egypt. In this first stage of currency, metals were used as symbols to represent value stored in the form of commodities and this formed the basis of trade in the Fertile Crescent for over 1500 years. Trade could only reach as far as the credibility of that military and it is not known what was used as a currency for these exchanges, but it is thought that ox-hide shaped ingots of copper, produced in Cyprus, may have functioned as a currency. It is thought that the increase in piracy and raiding associated with the Bronze Age collapse, possibly produced by the Peoples of the Sea, brought the trading system of oxhide ingots to an end. In Africa, many forms of value store have been used, including beads, ingots, ivory, various forms of weapons, livestock, the manilla currency, the manilla rings of West Africa were one of the currencies used from the 15th century onwards to sell slaves. African currency is still notable for its variety, and in many various forms of barter still apply. These factors led to the metal itself being the store of value, first silver, now we have copper coins and other non-precious metals as coins. Metals were mined, weighed, and stamped into coins and this was to assure the individual taking the coin that he was getting a certain known weight of precious metal. Coins could be counterfeited, but they created a new unit of account. Most major economies using coinage had several tiers of coins, using a mix of copper, silver, gold coins were used for large purchases, payment of the military and backing of state activities, they were more often used as measures of account than physical coins
13.
Pattern coin
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A pattern coin is a coin which has not been approved for release, produced for the purpose of evaluating a proposed coin design. They are often off-metal strike, to standard or piedforts. They are collected or studied by many coin collectors because of their sometimes highly elaborate designs, the first English coin that can be identified with certainty is a groat, originally worth fourpence. This piece, an example of which was illustrated and sold in the Dodsley Cuff sale of the century, had crowns in place of the usual three pellets in each quarter of the reverse. Patterns are particularly identifiable and exist in larger numbers from the reign of Elizabeth I onwards, the experimental base metal issues of all coinage prior to the mid-18th century have been well preserved. Boultons mint in Soho produced prodigious quantities of patterns, which were supplemented by Taylor some fifty or so years later from the same dies. After the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4,1776, during the next 16 years, a variety of different coin designs from over the world were common. In this period, a large amount of different pattern coins were created, proposed for use in the newly found states. However, none of these designs were used by the general public, in 1792 the United States Mint opened in Philadelphia. In that year several more patterns were created, including the half dime and it is believed that ca.1,500 pieces were struck as patterns, and that these patterns themselves entered circulation during the next decade. Over the next 40 years, more patterns were created but there is little currently known about these pieces. Technically, these coins were not patterns but rather off-metal strikes, an example is an 1807 Half Eagle, or five dollar gold piece struck in copper. Starting in 1836, more patterns were created by the United States Mint in Philadelphia. S, dollars that was minted in 1877 and weighed 2.5 ounces. The U. S. Mint deemed the idea of a 2.5 ounce gold coin infeasable, however, transitional pieces are patterns dated before coins with the new design officially went into circulation. These were often produced during final stage of the pattern process, one famous example is the 1856 Flying Eagle cent, although that coin has been commonly and incorrectly believed to be regular issue due to its high mintage for collectors. Fantasy pieces include many struck in the 1860s and 1870s as patterns and this practice ended in the 1880s, when the U. S. Mint enforced regulations to prevent the sale of pattern coins. From time to time the U. S. Mint experiments with new coinage, at that time the practice of using dies with Martha Washington for trial strikings began, since they would not be confused with real circulating money. Because they do not resemble money, no restrictions exist on the sale of Martha Washington pieces, mint-produced modern patterns are very rare, with only a few pieces existing in private collections
14.
Gobrecht dollar
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The Gobrecht dollar, minted from 1836 to 1839, was the first silver dollar struck for circulation by the United States Mint since production of that denomination was officially halted in 1806. The coin was struck in numbers to determine whether the reintroduced silver dollar would be well received by the public. In 1835, Director of the United States Mint Samuel Moore resigned his post, shortly after, Patterson began an attempt to redesign the nations coinage. After Mint Chief Engraver William Kneass suffered a stroke later that year, on August 1, Patterson wrote a letter to Philadelphia artist Thomas Sully laying out his plans for the dollar coin. He also asked Titian Peale to create a design for the coin, Sully created an obverse design depicting a seated representation of Liberty and Peale a reverse depicting a soaring bald eagle, which were converted into coin designs by Gobrecht. After the designs were created and trials struck, production of the working dies began in September 1836. In January 1837, the standard for the percentage of precious metal in silver coins was changed from 89. 2% to 90%. In total,1,900 Gobrecht dollars were struck during the production run. Production of the Seated Liberty dollar, which utilized the same design as the Gobrecht dollar. In the 1850s, Mint officials controversially re-struck the coins without authorization, the first silver dollars struck by the United States Mint were minted in 1794. In 1806, then Secretary of State James Madison issued an order officially halting mintage of the coins, in 1831, Mint Director Samuel Moore noticed a reversal, a large shipment of Spanish dollars had recently been shipped from Canton to the United States. Later that year, President Andrew Jackson, at Moores request, no further action was taken until the summer of 1834, when officials suggested that proof coin sets be prepared as gifts for Asian dignitaries. After examining Mint records, personnel incorrectly concluded that the last Draped Bust dollars minted were dated 1804 and it is unknown precisely how many 1804 dollars were struck, though eight are known to be extant. In June 1835, Moore resigned his post as director, and was replaced by Robert M. Patterson, Mint Chief Engraver Kneass prepared a sketch based on Pattersons conception, but soon suffered a stroke, leaving him partially incapacitated. In a letter dated August 1,1835, Patterson proposed that Sully create a Seated Liberty figure for the obverse, suggesting that the figure be in a sitting posture—sitting, for example, on a rock. Patterson also suggested that the figure should hold in her right hand a pileus atop a pole to be emblematic of Liberty. Patterson preferred a soaring eagle because he believed that the heraldic eagle used on American coins. In September 1835, Thomas Sully received from Patterson a set of British coins, Sully sent Patterson three rough sketches near the beginning of October, and those were given to Gobrecht, who in turn set about making a copper engraving of the design
15.
Latin Monetary Union
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It was established in 1865 and disbanded in 1927. Many countries minted coins according to the LMU standard even though they did not formally accede to the LMU treaty, by treaty dated 23 December 1865, France, Belgium, Italy, and Switzerland formed the Latin Monetary Union. They agreed to a gold and silver standard with a gold-to-silver ratio of 15.5 to 1 as established in the French Franc. One LMU Franc represented 4.5 grams of silver or 0.290322 gram of fine gold. The treaty required that all four contracting states strike freely exchangeable gold coins, before the treaty, for example, the fineness of the silver coins in the four states varied from 0.800 to 0.900. The treaty required that the largest silver coin of 5 francs be struck 0.900 fine, the agreement came into force on 1 August 1866. The LMU served the function of facilitating trade between different countries by setting the standards by which gold and silver currency could be minted and exchanged. In this manner a French trader could accept Italian lire for his goods with confidence that it could be converted back to an amount of francs. Following the International Monetary Conference of 1867, the four nations were joined by Greece on April 10,1867. Greece took advantage of a clause in the treaty that guaranteed admission of foreign states that agreed to abide by the treaty, spain and Romania also considered joining. The discussions broke off unsuccessfully, but both countries made a attempt to conform their currencies to the LMU standard. Austria-Hungary thereafter minted some but not all of its gold coins on the LMU standard, including the 4 and 8 gulden, in 1904, the Danish West Indies were also placed on this standard but did not join the Union itself. Albania did not however mint its own coins, or issue its own paper money until it adopted an independent monetary system in 1925, from the beginning, fluctuations in the relative value of gold and silver on the world market stressed the currency union. This is today recognized as an effect of a currency based on bimetalism when precious metal prices fluctuate. When the LMU was formed in 1865, silver was nearing the end of a period of high valuation compared to gold, in 1873 the value of silver dropped significantly, followed by a sharp increase in silver imports in the LMU countries, particularly in France and Belgium. By 1873, the value of silver made it profitable to mint silver in exchange for gold at the Unions standard rate of 15.5 ounces to 1. Indeed, in all of 1871 and 1872 the French mint had received just 5,000,000 francs of silver for conversion to coin, but in 1873 alone received 154,000,000 francs. Fearing an influx of silver coinage, the nations of the Union agreed in Paris on January 30,1874
16.
John A. Kasson
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John Adam Kasson was a nineteenth-century lawyer, politician and diplomat from south-central Iowa. Elected to the U. S. House six times, he interrupted his congressional service to serve in the Diplomatic service in many different capacities. He was born in Charlotte, Vermont on January 11,1822 to John Steele Kasson, Kasson attended local school as a child and later graduated from the University of Vermont in 1842. He studied law and was admitted to the bar, commencing practice in St. Louis and he moved to Des Moines, Iowa in 1857 and commenced practice there. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1860, in 1861, President Lincoln appointed Kasson as First Assistant Postmaster General, a position he held until August 1862. In 1862 Kasson was elected a Republican to represent Iowas new 5th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives and his district included 22 counties in the southwestern quadrant of Iowa, including the city of Des Moines. He represented that district for two terms, from 1863 to 1867. There, he served as chairman of the United States House Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures from 1863 to 1867, during which time the Metric Act of 1866, which he drafted, was passed. He was a commissioner from the United States to the International Postal Congress in Paris, however, in 1866 he lost the Republican nomination to Civil War and Indian Campaign General Grenville M. Dodge. Afterward, he was a commissioner from the United States to negotiate postal conventions with Great Britain, France, Belgium, in 1868 he was elected to the Iowa House of Representatives, where he served until 1872. That year he was returned to the U. S. House to represent Iowas new 7th congressional district and he represented that district in Congress for four years, serving from 1873 to 1877. He did not seek renomination in 1876, even though the New York Times reported that summer that he would have good chances of success as a candidate to become the next Speaker of the House. In 1877 Kasson was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Austria-Hungary by President Rutherford B, hayes, a position he held until early 1881. At his suggestion, the four dollar Stella pattern coins were minted in 1879 and 1880, in 1880 he ran once again for Congress, again winning the Republican nomination and general election to represent Iowas 7th congressional district in the U. S. House. His final period in Congress ended in 1884, when he was appointed Envoy, legation at Berlin, Germany by President Chester A. Arthur. He served in that position until 1885, when he was named as an envoy to the Congo International Conference in Berlin. He was also an envoy to the Samoan International Conference in 1889. Kasson died in Washington, D. C. on May 18,1910 and was interred in Woodland Cemetery in Des Moines, biographical Directory of the United States Congress
17.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
18.
Switzerland
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Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a federal republic in Europe. It consists of 26 cantons, and the city of Bern is the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in western-Central Europe, and is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is a country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km2. The establishment of the Old Swiss Confederacy dates to the medieval period, resulting from a series of military successes against Austria. Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire was formally recognized in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The country has a history of armed neutrality going back to the Reformation, it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815, nevertheless, it pursues an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. In addition to being the birthplace of the Red Cross, Switzerland is home to international organisations. On the European level, it is a member of the European Free Trade Association. However, it participates in the Schengen Area and the European Single Market through bilateral treaties, spanning the intersection of Germanic and Romance Europe, Switzerland comprises four main linguistic and cultural regions, German, French, Italian and Romansh. Due to its diversity, Switzerland is known by a variety of native names, Schweiz, Suisse, Svizzera. On coins and stamps, Latin is used instead of the four living languages, Switzerland is one of the most developed countries in the world, with the highest nominal wealth per adult and the eighth-highest per capita gross domestic product according to the IMF. Zürich and Geneva have each been ranked among the top cities in the world in terms of quality of life, with the former ranked second globally, according to Mercer. The English name Switzerland is a compound containing Switzer, a term for the Swiss. The English adjective Swiss is a loan from French Suisse, also in use since the 16th century. The name Switzer is from the Alemannic Schwiizer, in origin an inhabitant of Schwyz and its associated territory, the Swiss began to adopt the name for themselves after the Swabian War of 1499, used alongside the term for Confederates, Eidgenossen, used since the 14th century. The data code for Switzerland, CH, is derived from Latin Confoederatio Helvetica. The toponym Schwyz itself was first attested in 972, as Old High German Suittes, ultimately related to swedan ‘to burn’
19.
Glyph
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In typography, a glyph /ˈɡlɪf/ is an elemental symbol within an agreed set of symbols, intended to represent a readable character for the purposes of writing. In Turkish, however, it is not a glyph because that language has two versions of the letter i, with and without a dot. In Japanese syllabaries, a number of the characters are made up of more than one separate mark, however, in some cases, additional marks fulfill the role of diacritics, to differentiate distinct characters. In general, a diacritic is a glyph, even if it is contiguous with the rest of the character, two or more glyphs which have the same significance, whether used interchangeably or chosen depending on context, are called allographs of each other. The term has been used in English since 1727, borrowed from glyphe, from the Greek γλυφή, glyphē, carving, and the verb γλύφειν, glýphein, to hollow out, engrave, carve. The word glyph first came to widespread European attention with the engravings, in archaeology, a glyph is a carved or inscribed symbol. It may be a pictogram or ideogram, or part of a system such as a syllable. In 1897 Dana Evans discovered glyphs written on rocks in the Colorado Desert and these ancient characters have been called the most enlightening discovery in Native American History in the 19th Century. In typography, a glyph has a different definition, it is the specific shape, design. The same is true in computing, in computing as well as typography, the term character refers to a grapheme or grapheme-like unit of text, as found in natural language writing systems. The range of glyphs required increases correspondingly, in summary, in typography and computing, a glyph is a graphical unit. In graphonomics, the glyph is used for a noncharacter. Most typographic glyphs originate from the characters of a typeface, in the mobile text input technologies, Glyph is a family of text input methods based on the decomposition of letters into basic shapes. In role-playing games, the glyph is sometimes used alongside the word rune in describing magical drawings or etchings. Runes often refer to placing the image on an object or person to empower it, whereas the magic in a glyph lies dormant and is only triggered when the glyph is read or approached
20.
E pluribus unum
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Never codified by law, E Pluribus Unum was considered a de facto motto of the United States until 1956 when the United States Congress passed an act, adopting In God We Trust as the official motto. The 13-letter motto was suggested in 1776 by Pierre Eugene du Simitiere to the responsible for developing the seal. This in turn can be traced back to the London-based Huguenot Peter Anthony Motteux, the phrase is similar to a Latin translation of a variation of Heraclituss 10th fragment, The one is made up of all things, and all things issue from the one. In the poem text, color est e pluribus unus describes the blending of colors into one, st Augustine used the non-truncated variant of the phrase, ex pluribus unum, in his Confessions. The first coins with E pluribus unum were dated 1786 and struck under the authorization of the State of New Jersey by Thomas Goadsby and Albion Cox in Rahway, New Jersey. The motto had no New Jersey linkage but was likely an available die that had created by Walter Mould the previous year for a failed federal coinage proposal. Walter Mould was also authorized by New Jersey to strike state coppers with this motto and did so beginning in early 1787 in Morristown, New Jersey. In March 1786, Seth Read petitioned the Massachusetts General Court, E pluribus unum, written in capital letters, is included on most U. S. currency, with some exceptions to the letter spacing. It is also embossed on the edge of the dollar coin, E pluribus unum is inscribed on the Great Seals scroll. The motto was added to silver coins in 1798. In 1834, it was dropped from most of the coins to mark the change in the standard fineness of the coins. In 1837, it was dropped from the coins, marking the era of the Revised Mint Code. An Act of February 12,1873 made the inscription a requirement of law upon the coins of the United States, after the Revolution, Rahway, New Jersey became the home of the first national mint to create a coin bearing the inscription E pluribus unum. In a quality control error in early 2007 the Philadelphia Mint issued some one-dollar coins without E pluribus unum on the rim, the 2009 and new 2010 penny features a new design on the back, which displays the phrase E Pluribus unum in larger letters than in previous years. The motto E pluribus unum is used by Portuguese multi-sport club Benfica and this motto has also been used by the Scoutspataljon, a professional infantry battalion of the Estonian Defence Forces, since 1918. A variant of the motto, unum e pluribus is used by the Borough of Wokingham in Berkshire, E Pluribus Unum is a march by the composer Fred Jewell, written in 1917 during World War I. In the film The Wizard of Oz, the wizard gives the Scarecrow a diploma from the society of E Pluribus Unum. In the Twilight Zone episode A Kind of a Stopwatch, a man receives a stopwatch that can stop time and is told, remember, a short story collection by Theodore Sturgeon is called E Pluribus Unicorn
21.
United States Congress
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The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States consisting of two chambers, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the Capitol in Washington, D. C, both senators and representatives are chosen through direct election, though vacancies in the Senate may be filled by a gubernatorial appointment. Members are usually affiliated to the Republican Party or to the Democratic Party, Congress has 535 voting members,435 Representatives and 100 Senators. The House of Representatives has six non-voting members in addition to its 435 voting members and these members can, however, sit on congressional committees and introduce legislation. Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms representing the people of a single constituency, known as a district. Congressional districts are apportioned to states by using the United States Census results. Each state, regardless of population or size, has two senators, currently, there are 100 senators representing the 50 states. Each senator is elected at-large in their state for a term, with terms staggered. The House and Senate are equal partners in the legislative process—legislation cannot be enacted without the consent of both chambers, however, the Constitution grants each chamber some unique powers. The Senate ratifies treaties and approves presidential appointments while the House initiates revenue-raising bills, the House initiates impeachment cases, while the Senate decides impeachment cases. A two-thirds vote of the Senate is required before a person can be forcibly removed from office. The term Congress can also refer to a meeting of the legislature. A Congress covers two years, the current one, the 115th Congress, began on January 3,2017, the Congress starts and ends on the third day of January of every odd-numbered year. Members of the Senate are referred to as senators, members of the House of Representatives are referred to as representatives, congressmen, or congresswomen. One analyst argues that it is not a solely reactive institution but has played a role in shaping government policy and is extraordinarily sensitive to public pressure. Several academics described Congress, Congress reflects us in all our strengths, Congress is the governments most representative body. Congress is essentially charged with reconciling our many points of view on the public policy issues of the day. —Smith, Roberts, and Wielen Congress is constantly changing and is constantly in flux, most incumbents seek re-election, and their historical likelihood of winning subsequent elections exceeds 90 percent
22.
Washington, D.C.
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Washington, D. C. formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D. C. is the capital of the United States. The signing of the Residence Act on July 16,1790, Constitution provided for a federal district under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Congress and the District is therefore not a part of any state. The states of Maryland and Virginia each donated land to form the federal district, named in honor of President George Washington, the City of Washington was founded in 1791 to serve as the new national capital. In 1846, Congress returned the land ceded by Virginia, in 1871. Washington had an population of 681,170 as of July 2016. Commuters from the surrounding Maryland and Virginia suburbs raise the population to more than one million during the workweek. The Washington metropolitan area, of which the District is a part, has a population of over 6 million, the centers of all three branches of the federal government of the United States are in the District, including the Congress, President, and Supreme Court. Washington is home to national monuments and museums, which are primarily situated on or around the National Mall. The city hosts 176 foreign embassies as well as the headquarters of international organizations, trade unions, non-profit organizations, lobbying groups. A locally elected mayor and a 13‑member council have governed the District since 1973, However, the Congress maintains supreme authority over the city and may overturn local laws. D. C. residents elect a non-voting, at-large congressional delegate to the House of Representatives, the District receives three electoral votes in presidential elections as permitted by the Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1961. Various tribes of the Algonquian-speaking Piscataway people inhabited the lands around the Potomac River when Europeans first visited the area in the early 17th century, One group known as the Nacotchtank maintained settlements around the Anacostia River within the present-day District of Columbia. Conflicts with European colonists and neighboring tribes forced the relocation of the Piscataway people, some of whom established a new settlement in 1699 near Point of Rocks, Maryland. 43, published January 23,1788, James Madison argued that the new government would need authority over a national capital to provide for its own maintenance. Five years earlier, a band of unpaid soldiers besieged Congress while its members were meeting in Philadelphia, known as the Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783, the event emphasized the need for the national government not to rely on any state for its own security. However, the Constitution does not specify a location for the capital, on July 9,1790, Congress passed the Residence Act, which approved the creation of a national capital on the Potomac River. The exact location was to be selected by President George Washington, formed from land donated by the states of Maryland and Virginia, the initial shape of the federal district was a square measuring 10 miles on each side, totaling 100 square miles. Two pre-existing settlements were included in the territory, the port of Georgetown, Maryland, founded in 1751, many of the stones are still standing
23.
Bordello
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A brothel or bordello is a place where people may come to engage in sexual activity with a prostitute, sometimes referred to as a sex worker. Technically, any premises where prostitution takes place qualifies as a brothel. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments sometimes describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub parlours, studios, sex work in a brothel is considered safer than street prostitution. Under English criminal law, a brothel is commonly referred to as a disorderly house, attitudes around the world to prostitution and how it should be regulated vary considerably, and have varied over time. Part of the impacts on whether the operation of brothels should be legal. On 2 December 1949, the United Nations General Assembly approved the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons, the Convention came into effect on 25 July 1951 and as at December 2013 has been ratified by 82 states. The Convention seeks to combat prostitution, which it regards as incompatible with the dignity, parties to the Convention agreed to abolish regulation of individual prostitutes, and to ban brothels and procuring. Some countries not parties to the Convention also ban prostitution or the operation of brothels, various United Nations commissions, however, have differing positions on the issue. In the European Union, there is no policy and no consensus on the issue. The European Womens Lobby condemns prostitution as a form of male violence. In February 2014, the members of the European Parliament voted in a resolution, in favor of the Swedish Model of criminalizing the buying. Prostitution and the operation of brothels is illegal in many countries, such situations exist in many parts of the world, but the region most often associated with these policies is Asia. When brothels are illegal they may operate in the guise of a legitimate business, such as massage parlors. In other places, prostitution itself may be legal, but many activities which surround it are illegal and this is the situation, for example, in the United Kingdom, Italy and France. In a few countries, prostitution and operating a brothel is legal, the degree of regulation varies widely by country. Most of these countries allow brothels, at least in theory, in parts of Australia, for example, brothels are legal and regulated. Regulation includes planning controls and licensing and registration requirements, and there may be other restrictions, however, the existence of licensed brothels does not stop illegal brothels from operating. The Netherlands has one of the most liberal prostitution policies in the world, amsterdam is well known for its red-light district and is a destination for sex tourism
24.
Double eagle
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A double eagle is a gold coin of the United States with a denomination of $20. The coins are made from a 90% gold and 10% copper alloy and have a weight of 1.0750 troy ounces. The eagle, half eagle, and quarter eagle were specifically given these names in the Act of Congress that originally authorized them, likewise, the double eagle was specifically created as such by name. The first double eagle was minted in 1849, coinciding with the California Gold Rush, in that year, the mint produced two pieces in proof. The first resides in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D. C, the second was presented to Treasury Secretary William M. Meredith and was later sold as part of his estate—the present location of this coin remains unknown. In 1850, regular production began and continued until 1933, prior to 1850, eagles with a denomination of $10 were the largest denomination of US coin. The $10 eagles were produced beginning in 1795, just two years after the first U. S. mint opened, since the $20 gold piece had twice the value of the eagle, these coins were designated double eagles. In 1866, the motto In God We Trust was added to the liberty coronet double eagle, in 1877, the coins denomination design on the reverse was changed from twenty D to twenty dollars creating a third and final subtype for the series. An 1879 pattern coin was made for the quintuple stella using a design combining features of the liberty head double eagle and stella pattern coin, however this coin was stolen in July 2008. The Saint-Gaudens double eagle is named for the designer, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, theodore Roosevelt imposed upon him in his last few years to redesign the nations coinage at the beginning of the 20th century. Saint-Gaudens work on the high-relief $20 gold piece is considered to be one of the most extraordinary pieces of art on any American coin. The mint eventually insisted on a version, as the high-relief coin took up to eleven strikes to bring up the details. Only 12,367 of these coins were struck in 1907 and these coins easily top the $10,000 price in circulated grades, but can reach nearly a half million dollars in the best states of preservation. There were several changes in the years of this design. The first coins issued in 1907 design featured a date in Roman numerals, the motto In God We Trust was omitted from the initial design, as Roosevelt felt that putting the name of God on money that could be used for immoral purposes was inappropriate. By act of Congress, the motto was added in mid-1908, the design of the Saint-Gaudens coin was slightly changed once more when New Mexico and Arizona became states in 1912, and the number of stars along the rim was accordingly increased from 46 to 48. Double eagles were routinely minted through 1933, although few of the very last years coinages were released before the recall legislation of that year. Accordingly, these issues bring very high prices, the Saint-Gaudens obverse design was reused in the American eagle gold bullion coins that were instituted in 1986
25.
In God We Trust
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In God We Trust is the official motto of the United States. In God We Trust first appeared on U. S. coins in 1864 and has appeared on paper currency since 1957. A law passed in a Joint Resolution by the 84th Congress and this phrase was first used on paper money in 1957, when it appeared on the one-dollar silver certificate. The first paper currency bearing the phrase entered circulation on October 1,1957, the 84th Congress later passed legislation, also signed by President Eisenhower on July 30,1956, declaring the phrase to be the national motto. It is also the motto of the U. S. state of Florida and its Spanish equivalent, En Dios Confiamos, is the motto of the Republic of Nicaragua. The phrase appears to have originated in The Star-Spangled Banner, written by Francis Scott Key during the War of 1812, the fourth stanza includes the phrase, And this be our motto, In God is our Trust. This version of the made a early appearance on the twenty dollar interest bearing notes issued in 1864 along with the motto God. At least part of the motivation was to declare that God was on the Union side of the Civil War, chase chose his favorite designs and presented a proposal to Congress for the new designs in late 1863. This meant that the mint could make no changes without the enactment of legislation by the Congress. Such legislation was introduced and passed on April 22,1864, an Act of Congress passed on March 3,1865, allowed the Mint Director, with the Secretarys approval, to place the motto on all gold and silver coins that shall admit the inscription thereon. In 1873, Congress passed the Coinage Act, granting that the Secretary of the Treasury may cause the motto IN GOD WE TRUST to be inscribed on coins as shall admit of such motto. The use of In God We Trust has been interrupted, the motto disappeared from the five-cent coin in 1883, and did not reappear until production of the Jefferson nickel began in 1938. However, at least two other coins minted in every year in the interim still bore the motto, including the Morgan dollar, in 1908, Congress made it mandatory that the phrase be printed on all coins upon which it had previously appeared. This decision was motivated after an outcry following the release of a $20 coin which did not bear the motto. The motto has been in use on the one-cent coin since 1909. It also has appeared on all coins and silver dollar coins, half-dollar coins. Since 1938, all US coins have borne the motto, during the Cold War era, the government of the United States sought to distinguish itself from the Soviet Union, which promoted state atheism and thus implemented antireligious legislation. The 84th Congress passed a joint resolution declaring IN GOD WE TRUST the national motto of the United States, the law was signed by President Eisenhower on July 30,1956
26.
History of the United States dollar
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The history of the United States Dollar refers to more than 240 years since the Continental Congress of the United States authorized the issuance of Continental Currency in 1775. On April 2,1792, the United States Congress created the United States dollar as the standard unit of money. The term dollar had already been in usage since the colonial period when it referred to eight-real coin used by the Spanish throughout New Spain. By the end of 1778, Continental Currency retained only between 1⁄5 to 1⁄7 of its face value. By 1780, Continental bills – or Continentals – were worth just 1⁄40 of their face value, Congress tried to reform the currency by removing the old bills from circulation and issuing new ones, but this met with little or no success. By May 1781, Continentals had become so worthless they ceased to circulate as money, Benjamin Franklin noted that the depreciation of the currency had, in effect, acted as a tax to pay for the war. In the 1790s, after the ratification of the United States Constitution, Congress appointed Robert Morris to be Superintendent of Finance of the United States following the collapse of Continental currency. In 1782, Morris advocated the creation of the first financial institution chartered by the United States, the Bank of North America was funded in part by specie loaned to the United States by France. Morris helped finance the final stages of the war by issuing notes in his name, the Bank of North America also issued notes convertible into specie. On July 6,1785, the Continental Congress of the United States authorized the issuance of a new currency, article One states they were prohibited to make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts. The United States Mint was created by Congress following the passing of the Coinage Act of 1792 and it was primarily tasked with producing and circulating coinage. The first Mint building was in Philadelphia, then the capital of the United States, the Mint was originally placed within the Department of State, until the Coinage Act of 1873 when it became part of the Department of the Treasury. The Mint had the authority to convert any precious metals into standard coinage for anyones account with no seigniorage charge beyond refining costs, Congress acted on Hamiltons recommendations in the Coinage Act of 1792, which established the dollar as the basic unit of account for the United States. The word dollar is derived from Low Saxon cognate of the High German Thaler, in the early 19th century, gold rose in relation to silver, resulting in the removal from commerce of nearly all gold coins, and their subsequent melting. Therefore, in the Coinage Act of 1834, the 15,1 ratio of silver to gold was changed to a 16,1 ratio by reducing the weight of the gold coinage. This created a new U. S. dollar that was backed by 1.50 g of gold, however, the previous dollar had been represented by 1.60 g of gold. The result of this revaluation, which was the first devaluation of the U. S. dollar, was that the value in gold of the dollar was reduced by 6%, moreover, for a time, both gold and silver coins were useful in commerce. In 1853, the weights of U. S. silver coins were reduced and this had the effect of placing the nation effectively on the gold standard
27.
Half cent (United States coin)
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The half cent is the smallest denomination of United States coin ever minted. It was first minted in 1792 and last minted in 1857 and it was minted in five different appearances. First authorized by the Coinage Act of 1792 on April 2,1792, the half-cent piece was made of 100% copper and was valued at five milles, or one two-hundredth of a dollar. It was slightly smaller than a modern U. S. quarter with diameters 22 mm,23.5 mm and 23 mm. Coinage was discontinued by the Coinage Act of February 21,1857 and they were all produced at the Philadelphia Mint. At the time of their discontinuation, the cent had more buying power than a dime in 2000. Based on the Consumer Price Index, the 2016 value is 14¢, on the 1793 coin and a variety of the 1797 coin, it was lettered TWO HUNDRED FOR A DOLLAR and another 1797 variety had a gripped, or milled, edge. Braided Hair 1840 through 1849 were proof-only issues,1849 -39,8641850 -39,8121851 -147,6721852 - proof only. 1853 -129,6941854 -55,3581855 -56,5001856 -40,4301857 -35,180 Penny, histories, photos, mintages, mints, metal contents, edge designs, designers, and more. Half Cent Pictures This half cent was the first coin donated to the American Numismatic Society The Half Cent Die State Book 1793-1857 by Ronald P. Manley, American Half Cents - The Little Half Sisters by Roger S. Cohen, Jr.1982. Walter Breens Encyclopedia of United States Half Cents 1793-1857 by Walter Breen,1983
28.
Fugio Cent
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The Fugio Cent is the first official one-cent piece of United States currency. Consisting of 0.36 oz of copper, its design was inspired by the works of Benjamin Franklin, while very available in lower grades, rare examples in excellent condition are highly sought after by collectors. This coin was designed by Benjamin Franklin, as a reminder to its holders, he put at its bottom the message. The image and the form a rebus meaning that time flies. This design was used on the Continental dollar in February 1776. Some historians believe that the business was intended literally here, as Franklin was an influential. Given Franklins history publishing aphorisms, it may have intended to mean both monetary and social business. The reverse side of both the 1776 coins and paper notes, and the 1787 coins, bore the third motto We Are One surrounded by thirteen chain links, representing the original thirteen colonial states. Bank of New York Hoard Large cent History of the United States dollar United States dollar United States Note The Fugio Cent of 1787, Introduction, The Coins of Colonial, U. S. Mint, Circulating Coins FAQ U. S. Mint,1776 Continental Dollar
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Large cent
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The United States large cent was a coin with a face value of 1/100 of a United States dollar. Its nominal diameter was 1 1⁄8 inch, the first official mintage of the large cent was in 1793, and its production continued until 1857, when it was officially replaced by the modern-size one-cent coin. Large cents were made of pure copper, or copper as pure as it emerged from smelting. First struck in 1793, the cent was coined every year from 1793 to 1857 except 1815. When the United States declared war in 1812 against Great Britain, the wartime embargo against shipments made it so the mint could not get any new copper planchets to strike coins which were imported from Great Britain. The mint made do with what supply it had and struck coins into 1815, after the war ended in 1816, the mint wasted no time in ordering new planchets. For an unknown reason no coins were dated 1815 from the supply the mint had in the interim, in addition to the copper shortage, people also hoarded precious metals during the war. The Philadelphia Mint produced all large cents, which contained twice the copper of the half cent and this made the coins bulky and heavy, bigger than modern-day U. S. Quarters. The obverse featured a bust of Liberty with a reverse of a ring of chains, henry Voigts design was almost universally criticized in its time for its unattractiveness and perceived allusion to slavery. It bears the distinction, however, of being the first official coinage minted by the United States federal government on its own equipment and premises. As a result, all surviving specimens command high prices ranging from $2, the Mint caved in to the intense ridicule later in 1793, and Mint Director David Rittenhouse ordered Adam Eckfeldt to revise the obverse and reverse designs. Libertys bust was redesigned with longer, wilder hair. Scholars are undecided as to plant or plants are depicted in the wreath, with several varieties extant. Total mintage of the wreath reverse numbered about 63,000 pieces, wrights design faced Liberty to the right and tamed her wild hair. The Phrygian cap was added as an ancient symbol of freedom, the reverse design was revised to a recognizable laurel wreath, and future Chief Engraver Robert Scot had a hand in several minor revisions to the design over the next three years. This design was successful and it was continued into 1796. In 1795, planchets became too thin for the edge lettering because of a reduction, so the mint stopped edge lettering on the cent. Four coins from 1795 are known to have a reeded edge, Robert Scot redesigned the whole of United States coinage for 1796, applying a new design featuring a bust of Liberty wearing a drapery at the neckline and a ribbon in her flowing hair
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Two-cent piece (United States)
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The two-cent piece was produced by the Mint of the United States for circulation from 1864 to 1872 and for collectors in 1873. Longacre, there were decreasing mintages each year, as other minor coins such as the nickel proved more popular and it was abolished by the Mint Act of 1873. The economic turmoil of the American Civil War caused government-issued coins, even the non-silver Indian Head cent, to vanish from circulation, one means of filling this gap was private token issues, often made of bronze. The cent at that time was struck of an alloy, the same diameter as the later Lincoln cent. The piece was difficult for the Philadelphia Mint to strike, and Mint officials, as well as the annual Assay Commission and it was abolished in 1873, large quantities were redeemed by the government and melted. Nevertheless, two-cent pieces remain inexpensive by the standards of 19th-century American coinage, a two-cent piece had been proposed in 1806 by Connecticut Senator Uriah Tracy, along with a twenty-cent piece or double dime. Reflecting the then-prevalent view that coins should contain their value in metal, Tracys bill provided that the two-cent piece be made of billon, the bill was opposed by Mint Director Robert Patterson, as it would be difficult to refine the silver from melted-down pieces. Although Tracys legislation passed the Senate twice, in 1806 and 1807, Patterson sent a brass button with two of the billon planchets that would have been used for the coin to Tracy, showing how hard it would be to prevent counterfeiting. The Mint considered a two-cent piece in 1836, and experiments were conducted by Second Engraver Christian Gobrecht, until 1857, the cent coin was a large copper piece, containing about its face value in metal. This happened because many Northerners feared that if the war went poorly, paper money, the gap was filled by, among other things, private token issues, sometimes in copper-nickel approximating the size of the cent, but often thinner pieces in bronze. He observed that the private cent tokens had sometimes contained as little as a fifth of a cent in metal and he proposed that the copper-nickel cent be replaced with a bronze piece of the same size. Pollock also wanted to eliminate nickel as a metal, its hard alloys destroyed dies. On December 8, Pollock wrote to Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase, proposing a bronze cent and two-cent piece, and enclosing pattern coins of the two-cent piece that he had had prepared. On March 2,1864, Pollock wrote urgently to Chase, warning him that the Mint was running out of nickel and that demand for cents was at an all-time high. Three days later, Chase sent Pollocks December letter and draft legislation for bronze one- and two-cent pieces to Maine Senator William P. Fessenden, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. Fessenden took no action, and on March 16, Pollock wrote again to Chase, warning that the Mint was going to run out of nickel. Chase forwarded his letter to Fessenden, legislation was finally introduced by New Hampshire Senator Daniel Clark on March 22, Pollocks letters were read and apparently influenced proceedings as the Senate passed the bill without debate. The domestic supply of nickel was at that time produced by a mine at Gap, Pennsylvania, owned by industrialist Joseph Wharton
31.
Three-cent nickel
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The copper-nickel three-cent piece, often called a three-cent nickel piece or three-cent nickel, was designed by US Mint Chief Engraver James B. Longacre and struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint from 1865 to 1889 and it was initially popular, but its place in commerce was supplanted by the five-cent piece, or nickel. These small slips of paper became ragged and dirty, and the came to hate shinplasters. The advocates were led by Pennsylvania industrialist Joseph Wharton, who controlled the domestic supply of nickel ore. After 1870, most years saw low mintages for the three-cent nickel. The last were struck in 1889, many were melted down to coin more five-cent pieces, the issue is not widely collected, and prices for rare dates remain low by the standards of American collectible coinage. In 1851, a bill for a three-cent piece in 75% silver and 25% copper was introduced in Congress by New York Senator Daniel S. Dickinson and this percentage of silver was less than the normal 90% so that the coins would circulate at a time of hoarding. Dickinsons bill passed on March 3,1851, and in addition to authorizing the new three-cent silver, by 1854, the imbalance had abated, and Congress increased the silver content of the three-cent piece to the standard 90% for silver coins, though its weight was reduced. The large cent was replaced by a version made of 88% copper. In 1861, the Civil War began, and when efforts to finance the war via borrowing failed, the United States shifted to a paper money-based economy with little disruption. This departure of low-value coins was far more disruptive to commerce than the loss of the gold coins. These included currency issues by cities and businesses, encased postage stamps, the low-value paper currency, whether issued by government or business, were called shinplasters by the public, which disliked them. On the Pacific Coast, where money was not favored, silver. The Philadelphia Mint tried to keep up with demand, limiting public purchases of cents to five dollars, with cents from the Philadelphia Mint selling at a premium, many private token issues were issued in 1863, and passed as cents in commerce. Mint officials took notice that the tokens, often made of bronze rather than the copper-nickel alloy then being used in the cent, were not hoarded, pollocks bill, as introduced, provided for one- and two-cent pieces of bronze, and the Wharton interests opposed it. According to Carothers, Congress declined to compromise with the nickel interests, in the House, its opponents managed to delay its passage for a month. Thaddeus Stevens, one of the most influential men in the House, fought it bitterly, admitting, however, the Coinage Act of 1864 passed into law on April 22 of that year. After entering circulation several months later, the cent and two-cent piece circulated in trade without being hoarded
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Three-cent silver
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The three-cent silver, also known as the three-cent piece in silver or trime, was struck by the Mint of the United States for circulation from 1851 to 1872, and as a proof coin in 1873. Designed by the Mints chief engraver, James B, Longacre, it circulated well while other silver coinage was being hoarded and melted, but once that problem was addressed, became less used. It was abolished by Congress with the Coinage Act of 1873, after a massive importation of gold bullion during the California Gold Rush, silver could be traded for increasing amounts of gold, so U. S. silver coins were exported and melted for their metal. This, and the reduction of postage rates to three cents, prompted Congress in 1851 to authorize a coin of that made of.750 fine silver, rather than the conventional.900. The three-cent silver was the first American coin to contain metal valued significantly less than its value. The coin saw heavy use until Congress acted again in 1853, making silver coins lighter. Congress also lightened the three-cent silver, and increased its fineness to 900 silver, a three-cent piece in copper-nickel was struck beginning in 1865, and the three-cent silver saw low mintages for its final decade before its abolition. The series is not widely collected, and the pieces remain inexpensive relative to other U. S. coins of similar scarcity. Although the Mint of the United States had been striking silver coins since the 1790s, in 1834, for example, half dollars sold on the market at a premium of one percent. The U. S. was then on a bimetallic standard, by early 1849, most of the silver coins in circulation were small coins of the Spanish colonial real, including the levy and fip. The levy and fip often passed for twelve and six cents respectively in the Eastern U. S, the mint accepted them as payment at a slightly lower figure, but even so, lost money on the transactions as many of the pieces were lightweight through wear. In the Western U. S. the levy and fip were accepted as the equivalent of the dime and half dime. Bullion from the California Gold Rush and other came to the Eastern U. S. in considerable quantities beginning in 1848. By the following year, the price of gold relative to silver had dropped, making it profitable to export American silver coins, sell them as bullion, early in 1849, Congress authorized a gold dollar to help bridge the gap. Spanish silver coins were the bulk of what was left in commerce for small change, additionally, they were often heavily worn, reducing their intrinsic worth at a time when Americans expected coins to contain metal worth the value assigned to them. In 1850, New York Senator Daniel S. Dickinson introduced legislation for a three-cent piece in.750 fine silver, that is, three parts silver to one part copper. He proposed to offer it in exchange for the Spanish silver, the three-cent denomination was chosen as it coordinated well with the six and twelve cent values often assigned the fip and levy. No legislation passed in 1850, which saw continued export of Americas silver coinage, impetus for the passage of a three-cent coin came when Congress, in January 1851, considered reducing postage rates from five cents to three
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Half dime
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The half dime, or half disme, was a silver coin, valued at five cents, formerly minted in the United States. Some numismatists consider the denomination to be the first coin minted by the United States Mint under the Coinage Act of 1792, with production beginning on or about July 1792. However, others consider the 1792 half dime to be nothing more than a coin, or test piece. These coins were smaller than dimes in diameter and thickness. The introduction of the copper-nickel five-cent pieces made the coins of the same denomination redundant. The following types of half dimes were produced by the United States Mint or under the authority of the Coinage Act of 1792, authorized by the Act of April 2,1792, it lasted until 1873. Until 1829 it showed no value anywhere on its obverse or reverse, the flowing hair half dime was designed by Robert Scot and this same design was also used for half dollar and dollar silver coins minted during the same period. The obverse bears a Liberty portrait similar to that appearing on the 1794 half cent and cent but without the liberty cap, mintage of the 1794 version was 7,765 while 78,660 of the 1795 version were produced. The obverse of the draped bust half dime was based on a sketch by artist Gilbert Stuart, with the dies engraved by Robert Scot, the primary 1796 variety bears fifteen stars representing the then number of states in the union. The reverse bears a wreath surrounding a small eagle perched on a cloud. 54,757 half dimes of this design were minted, following a two-year hiatus, mintage of half dimes resumed in 1800. The obverse remained essentially the same as the version. The eagle on the reverse now had outstretched wings, heraldic style and this reverse design first appeared on gold quarter and half eagles and then dimes and dollars in the 1790s. Mintage of the series never surpassed 40,000, with none produced in 1804, no denomination or mintmark appears on the coins, all were minted in Philadelphia. Production of half dimes resumed in 1829 based on a new design by Chief Engraver William Kneass, all coins were minted at Philadelphia and display no mintmark. The high circulating mintage in the series was in 1835, when 2,760,000 were struck, both Capped Bust and Liberty Seated half dimes were minted in 1837. These were the last silver half dimes produced, the design features Liberty seated on a rock and holding a shield and was first conceived in 1835 used first on the silver dollar patterns of 1836. The series is divided into several subtypes, the first was struck at Philadelphia in 1837 and New Orleans in 1838 and lacks stars on the obverse
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Twenty-cent piece (United States coin)
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The American twenty-cent piece is a coin struck from 1875 to 1878, but only for collectors in the final two years. Proposed by Nevada Senator John P. Jones, it proved a failure due to confusion with the quarter, in 1874, the newly elected Jones began pressing for a twenty-cent piece, which he stated would alleviate the shortage of small change in the far West. The bill passed Congress, and mint director Henry Linderman ordered pattern coins struck, Linderman eventually decided on an obverse and reverse similar to that of other silver coins. Although the coins have an edge, rather than reeded as with other silver coins, the new piece was close to the size of, and immediately confused with. Adding to the bewilderment, the obverse, or heads, sides of coins were almost identical. After the first year, in which over a million were minted, there was demand. At least a third of the mintage was later melted by the government. Numismatist Mark Benvenuto called the twenty-cent piece a chapter of U. S. coinage history that closed almost before it began, a twenty-cent piece had been proposed as early as 1791, and again in 1806, but had been rejected. The 1806 bill, introduced by Connecticut Senator Uriah Tracy, sought both a two-cent piece and a double dime, the bill passed the Senate twice, in 1806 and 1807, but did not pass the House of Representatives. Several factors converged to make possible a twenty-cent piece in the 1870s, the first was a shortage of small change in the far West, where base-metal coins did not circulate. Prices in the West were sometimes in bits, adding to the change problem, a second factor was the anxiety of Congress to see more silver made into coin. This was due to pressure from mining and other interests, the Coinage Act of 1873 ended the practice of allowing silver producers to have their bullion struck into silver dollars and returned to them. He quietly urged Congress to end the practice, which it did, within a year, silver prices had dropped, and producers tried vainly to deposit bullion at the mints for conversion into legal tender. Mining interests sought other means of selling silver to the government, the third was American interest in aligning its currency with the Latin Monetary Union and to bring its weights for coinage into the metric system. Another purpose for an issue of silver coins, regardless of denomination, was to retire the fractional currency—low-value paper money or shinplasters. Congress passed legislation in 1875 and 1876 for large quantities of coins for this purpose. The father of the twenty-cent piece was Nevada Senator John P. Jones. Part-owner of the Crown Point Mine, he had elected to the Senate in 1873, on February 10,1874, he introduced a bill to authorize a twenty-cent piece
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Gold dollar
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The gold dollar or gold one-dollar piece is a gold coin that was struck as a regular issue by the United States Bureau of the Mint from 1849 to 1889. The coin had three types over its lifetime, all designed by Mint Chief Engraver James B, the Type 1 issue has the smallest diameter of any United States coin minted to date. A gold dollar coin had been proposed several times in the 1830s and 1840s, Congress was finally galvanized into action by the increased supply of bullion caused by the California gold rush, and in 1849 authorized a gold dollar. In its early years, silver coins were being hoarded or exported, Gold did not again circulate in most of the nation until 1879, once it did, the gold dollar did not regain its place. In its final years, it was struck in small numbers and it was also in demand to be mounted in jewelry. The regular issue gold dollar was last struck in 1889, the following year, Congress followed Hamiltons recommendation only in part, authorizing a silver dollar, but no coin of that denomination in gold. In 1831, the first gold dollar was minted, at the mint of Christopher Bechtler in North Carolina. Additional one-dollar pieces were struck by August Bechtler, Christophers son and he was opposed by the Mint Director, Robert M. Patterson. Woodbury persuaded President Andrew Jackson to have pattern coins struck, in response, Patterson had Mint Second Engraver Christian Gobrecht break off work on the new design for the silver one-dollar coin and work on a pattern for the gold dollar. Gobrechts design featured a Liberty cap surrounded by rays on one side, and a palm branch arranged in a circle with the denomination, date, consideration was given to including the gold dollar as an authorized denomination in the revisionary legislation that became the Mint Act of 1837. Nevertheless, after Mint Director Patterson appeared before a congressional committee, in January 1844, North Carolina Representative James Iver McKay, the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, solicited the views of Director Patterson on the gold dollar. Patterson had more of Gobrechts pattern dollar struck to show to committee members and he told Treasury Secretary John C. Spencer that the gold coins of that size in commerce. This seemed to satisfy the committee as nothing more was done for the time, even before 1848, record amounts of gold were flowing to American mints to be struck into coin, but the California Gold Rush vastly increased these quantities. This renewed calls for a dollar, as well as for a higher denomination than the eagle. In January 1849, McKay introduced a bill for a gold dollar, there was much discussion in the press about the proposed coin, one newspaper published a proposal for an annular gold dollar, that is, with a hole in the middle to increase its small diameter. Nevertheless, Gobrechts successor as chief engraver, James B, Longacre, prepared patterns, including some with a square hole in the middle. McKay introduced a version into the House on February 20, debate began the same day, McKay did not respond substantively, but stated that if no one wanted these denominations, they would not be called for at the Mint, and would not be coined
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Quarter eagle
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The quarter eagle was a gold coin issued by the United States with a denomination of two hundred and fifty cents, or two dollars and fifty cents. It was given its name in the Coinage Act of 1792 and its purchasing power in 1800 would be equivalent to $71.12 in 2015 dollars. Designed by Robert Scot, the quarter eagle denomination was struck at the mint at Philadelphia, and branch mints in Charlotte, New Orleans. The first issues weighed 67.5 grains, fineness.9167, until the weight was modified to 64.5 grains, the Act of January 18,1837 established a fineness of.900. This means that 1837 and later quarter eagles contain 0.121 Troy Oz. of gold content, as relatively fewer coins were struck prior to 1834, combined with their higher gold content, all of the early issues range from scarce to rare. The first issues were struck in 1796, any proof date prior to 1856 is rare, and will command a premium in any condition. The quarter eagle denomination was discontinued in 1933 with the removal of the United States from the Gold Standard. Also known as the Turban Head, this interpretation of Liberty wearing a cap was designed by Robert Scot and was minted from 1796 to 1807. There were three varieties of this design, first came the Capped Bust facing right variety. There were two variations of design, no stars on the obverse, and stars on the obverse. The no stars variety was produced only in 1796, replaced with the stars, in 1808, Liberty was redesigned by John Reich, to be wearing more of a traditional cap rather than a turban. This design was minted for 1808 only, but in 1821 the mint reinstated the quarter eagle and it was produced again until 1827, in 1829, the quarter eagle was reduced in size again to 18.2 mm, and featured smaller letters and stars. This version of the design was produced until 1834, the Classic Head variety was designed by William Kneass, which featured a traditional maiden with a ribbon binding her long, curly hair. This variety omitted E pluribus unum from the reverse of the coin, in 1840, a coronet and smaller head were designed to conform with the appearance of the larger gold coins, therefore making the Classic Head design obsolete. The Classic Head design was produced from 1834 to 1839, also known as the Coronet Head, the Liberty head was designed to match the styles of the other gold Eagles the government was producing. The Liberty Head design was created by Christian Gobrecht and was produced successfully from 1840 to 1907, like its predecessor, this variety omitted E Pluribus Unum from the reverse. One notable date is 1848, when 230 ounces of gold were sent to the Secretary of War Marcy by Colonel R. B. Mason, the gold was turned over to the mint and promptly made into quarter eagles. The distinguishing mark CAL. was punched above the eagle on the reverse side of the coin
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Three-dollar piece
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The three-dollar piece was a gold coin produced by the United States Bureau of the Mint from 1854 to 1889. Authorized by the Act of February 21,1853, the coin was designed by Mint Chief Engraver James B, the obverse bears a representation of Lady Liberty wearing a headdress of a Native American princess and the reverse a wreath of corn, wheat, cotton, and tobacco. In 1851, Congress had authorized a silver three-cent piece so that postage stamps of value could be purchased without using the widely disliked copper cents. Two years later, a bill was passed which authorized a three-dollar coin, by some accounts, the coin was created so larger quantities of stamps could be purchased. Longacre, in designing the piece, sought to make it as different as possible from the eagle or $2.50 piece, striking it on a thinner planchet. Although over 100,000 were struck in the first year, the piece was last struck in 1889, and Congress ended the series the following year. Although many dates were struck in numbers, the rarest was produced at the San Francisco Mint in 1870. In 1832, New York Congressman Campbell P, although Congress, in passing the Coinage Act of 1834, made adjustments to the ratio between gold and silver, it did not authorize a $3 coin at that time. The Act of March 3,1845 authorized the first United States postage stamps, in the years following, this rate was seen as too high and an impediment to commerce. Accordingly, Congress on March 3,1851 authorized both a three-cent stamp and a three-cent silver coin. According to numismatic historian Walter Breen, the purpose of the new 3¢ piece would be to buy postage stamps without using the unpopular, heavy. By 1853, silver was overvalued with respect to gold and this was due to large discoveries of gold, especially in California, and silver was heavily exported. To correct this situation, Secretary of the Treasury Thomas Corwin advocated reducing the content of most silver coins to prevent their export. Nevertheless, Congress passed the bill, which law on February 21,1853. That bill also authorized a gold coin, according to numismatic writer Don Taxay. In 1889, then-Mint Director James P. Kimball wrote that it is supposed that the piece was designed to be a multiple of the three-cent piece. David Bowers notes that whether or not the $3 denomination was actually necessary or worthwhile has been a matter of debate among numismatists for well over a century. Much of what is known of the process for the three-dollar piece is from an August 21,1858, letter from the Mints chief engraver
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Half eagle
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The Half Eagle is a United States coin that was produced for circulation from 1795 to 1929 and in commemorative and bullion coins since the 1980s. Composed almost entirely of gold, it has a value of five dollars. Its production was authorized by The Act of April 2,1792, the design and composition of the half eagle changed many times over the years, but it was originally designed by Robert Scot. At this time the coin contained.9167 gold and.0833 copper and silver and it had a diameter of approximately 25 mm, a weight of 8.75 grams, and a reeded edge. The obverse design, or Turban Head, depicted a portrait of Liberty facing to the right. The reverse depicted a small eagle and this type was produced from 1795 to 1798. Simultaneously, another type was minted that depicted a larger heraldic eagle on the reverse with the inscription E PLURIBUS UNUM and this type was produced through 1807. From 1807 to 1812, a new designed by John Reich was produced, the Draped Bust, featuring a round-capped Liberty facing left on the obverse. For the first time, the value 5 D. was placed on the reverse of the coin to indicate its value, in 1813 a modified version of the Draped Bust was introduced, removing much of the bustline and giving Liberty an overall larger appearance. This design which would last through 1834, another modification occurred in 1829 when the diameter of the coin was reduced slightly to 23.8 mm, although the overall design remained unchanged. By 1834, the gold in the eagle had been worth more than its face value for several years. The Act of June 28,1834 called for a reduction in the gold used. The weight of the coin was reduced to 8.36 grams, the reduced to 22.5 mm. A new obverse, the Classic Head, was created by William Kneass for the altered coin, the reverse still depicted the modified eagle introduced in 1813, but E PLURIBUS UNUM was removed to distinguish further the new composition. In 1837, the content of this type was increased to.900 in accordance with the Act of January 18,1837. In 1839 the coin was redesigned again, the new obverse was designed by Christian Gobrecht and is known as the Liberty Head or Coronet head. The reverse design remained largely the same, although the value was changed from 5 D. to Five D, for those struck at the Philidephia Mint, there was no longer any silver in the coin, its composition was now.900 gold and.100 copper. However, gold ore used at the branch mints of Charlotte and Dahlonega had a high natural silver content
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Eagle (United States coin)
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The eagle is a base-unit of denomination issued only for gold coinage by the United States Mint based on the original values designated by the Coinage Act of 1792. It has been obsolete as a circulating denomination since 1933, the eagle was the largest of the four main decimal base-units of denomination used for circulating coinage in the United States prior to 1933, the year when gold was withdrawn from circulation. These four main base-units of denomination were the cent, the dime, the dollar, and the eagle, where a dime is 10 cents, a dollar is 10 dimes, and an eagle is 10 dollars. The eagle base-unit of denomination served as the basis of the gold quarter-eagle, the gold half-eagle, the eagle, in this regard the United States followed long-standing European practice of different base-unit denominations for different precious and semi-precious metals. In the United States, the cent was the base-unit of denomination in copper, the dime and dollar were the base-units of denomination in silver. The eagle was the base-unit of denomination in gold although, unlike cent, dime, thus, a double eagle showed its value as twenty dollars rather than two eagles. The diameter of eagles was 27 mm, half eagles 21 mm, quarter eagles 17 mm, originally the purity of all circulating gold coins in the United States was eleven twelfths pure gold and one twelfth alloy. Under U. S. law, the alloy was composed only of silver and copper, thus, U. S. gold coins had 22/24 pure gold, at most 1/24 silver, with the remaining one–two 24ths copper. The weight of circulating, standard gold, eagles was set at 270 grains, half eagles at 135 grains and this resulted in the eagle containing 0.5156 troy ounces of pure gold. S gold coins. As a result, the specification for standard gold was lowered from 22 karat to.8992 fine. In 1837 a small change in the fineness of the gold was made, the new 1837 standard for the eagle was 258 grains of.900 fine gold, with other coins proportionately sized. Between 1838 and 1840, the content was reduced to zero—the eagle in 1838, half eagle in 1839. Using only copper as the alloy in gold coins matched long standing English practice, the 1837 standard resulted in a gold content of only 0.9675 troy ounces of gold per double eagle and 0.48375 troy ounces for the eagle. It would be used for all circulating gold coins until U. S. gold coin circulation was halted in 1933, as part of its Modern United States commemorative coins program the United States mint has issued several commemorative eagle coins. In 1984, an eagle was issued to commemorate the Summer Olympics, the pre-1933.900 fine gold standard was restored, this would also be used in half-eagle gold commemoratives as well. The coins would be identical in fineness and size to their counterparts of the same face value
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Half-union
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The Half-Union was a United States coin minted as a pattern, or a coin not approved for release, with a face value of fifty U. S. Dollars. It is often thought of as one of the most significant, the basic design slightly modified the similar $20 Liberty Head Double Eagle, which was designed by James B. Longacre and minted from 1849 to 1907, in 1877, famed Chief Engraver of the Mint at the time, William Barber, designed the coin. William Barber also designed several coins, such as the Amazonian Quarter pattern, the short-lived Twenty Cent Piece. The coin was designed to weigh roughly 2.5 ounces, had it been made for circulation with the general public, the coin would have been the highest valued gold coin ever made at the time, with a face value of fifty dollars. As it is a pattern, it was never struck for circulation, only two examples were actually struck in gold, and today both reside in the Smithsonian. However, the denomination did resurface in the form of a $50 commemorative coin released in 1915 to commemorate San Francisco. Some of the coins were octagonal, others round, making it the first, famed designer George T. Morgan thought of an early possible design for a $100 full Union coin, should the Half-Union ever be a success. However, around 2005, Morgans original sketches were discovered and published so the Numismatic world could see what could have been, private mints have since struck fantasy pieces of Morgans design for collectors, in both silver and gold. 1877 PATTERN COINS, DIE TRIALS & FANTASIES
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