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From today's featured articleThe Long Island Tercentenary half dollar is a commemorative coin struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1936. The obverse (pictured) depicts a male Dutch settler and an Algonquian tribesman, and the reverse shows a Dutch sailing ship. It was designed by Howard Weinman, son of Mercury dime designer Adolph A. Weinman. The Long Island Tercentenary Committee wanted a coin to mark the 300th anniversary of the first European settlement there. The authorizing bill passed through Congress without opposition, but was amended in the Senate to add protections against past commemorative coin abuses, such as low mintages or a multiplicity of varieties. The coins were not struck until August 1936, too late for the anniversary celebrations. Four-fifths of the 100,000 coins sent to the Tercentenary Committee were sold, despite a lack of advertising. The half dollar now catalogues up to the low hundreds of dollars. (Full article...)
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On this dayOctober 6: German-American Day in the United States
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Sulfur is an abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic chemical element. It is a bright yellow, crystalline solid at room temperature. Being abundantly available in native form, the element was known in ancient times and is referred to in the Torah (in the Book of Genesis). A natural form of sulfur known as shiliuhuang was known in China since the 6th century BC and found in Hanzhong. These sulfur crystals on a matrix, measuring 4.8 cm × 3.5 cm × 3 cm (1.9 in × 1.4 in × 1.2 in), were mined in Daniel Campos Province, Bolivia. Photograph credit: Ivar Leidus
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