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Standard silver dollar, abolished by the Coinage Act of 1873
Standard silver dollar, abolished by the act

The Coinage Act of 1873 declared that US dollar coins struck from silver bullion were no longer considered legal tender, thus placing the nation firmly on the gold standard and ending bimetallism. In 1869, silver was expensive, and not much of it was being presented at the Mint to be struck into coins, but Deputy Comptroller of the Currency John Jay Knox and others foresaw that cheaper ore from the Comstock Lode and elsewhere would soon became available. To replace the outdated Mint Act of 1837, Knox drafted a bill that took nearly three years to pass. It was rarely mentioned during Congressional debates that the bill would end bimetallism, though this was not concealed. The bill was finally signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant. When silver prices dropped in 1876, producers sought to have their bullion struck at the Mint, only to learn that this was no longer possible. The resulting political controversy lasted the remainder of the century, pitting those who valued the deflationary gold standard against those who called the Act the "Crime of '73", believing the free coinage of silver to be necessary for economic prosperity. (Full article...)

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Blood red webcap (Cortinarius sanguineus)
Blood red webcap (Cortinarius sanguineus)

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Garbiñe Muguruza in January 2016
Garbiñe Muguruza

On this day...

June 10: Portugal Day

SMS Szent István
SMS Szent István

More than 112,000 men have been initiated into Phi Kappa Psi, an American collegiate social fraternity founded at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. Many brothers have achieved recognition in their field. Phi Psis in public service include U.S. President and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Woodrow Wilson, over a hundred members of Congress (including 18 senators and Speaker of the House Warren Keifer), and three-term New York City Mayor and Bloomberg L.P. founder Mike Bloomberg. Academian Phi Psis include over a dozen university presidents (among these are Priestley Medal recipient Edgar Fahs Smith, and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Detlev Bronk), Rhodes scholars, and Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Frederick Jackson Turner. Among the Phi Psis who have served in the military are dozens of generals and admirals. In the arts, Phi Psis have received Academy Awards, Emmys, Golden Globes, Grammys, and Tony Awards. (Full list...)

Betafite

A betafite octahedron collected in Bancroft, Ontario, Canada. Betafite, a mineral group in the pyrochlore supergroup, typically occurs as a primary mineral in granite pegmatites, and rarely in carbonatites. Though there is no applicable use for the accepted betafite species, it is an important ore of thorium, uranium, and niobium.

Photograph: Heinrich Pniok

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