1471 – In England, the Yorkists defeated the Landcastrians at the battle of Tewkesbury in the War of the Roses.

1493 – Alexander VI divided non-Christian world between Spain and Portugal.

1626 – Dutch explorer Peter Minuit landed on Manhattan Island. Native Americans later sold the island (20,000 acres) for $24 in cloth and buttons.

1715 – A French manufacturer debuted the first folding umbrella.

1776 – Rhode Island declared its freedom from England two months before the Declaration of Independence was adopted.

1814 – Napoleon Bonaparte disembarked at Portoferraio on the island of Elba in the Mediterranean.

1863 – The Battle of Chancellorsville ended when the Union Army retreated.

1886 – A bomb exploded on the fourth day of a workers’ strike in Chicago, IL. Eight people died in the violence during violence that day.

1886 – Chichester Bell and Charles S. Tainter patented the gramophone. It was the first practical phonograph.

1904 – The U.S. formally took control of the property for construction of the Panama Canal.

1905 – Belmont Park opened in suburban Long Island. It opened as the largest race track in the world.

1916 – Germany agreed to limit its submarine warfare after a demand from U.S. President Wilson.

1942 – The Battle of the Coral Sea commenced as American and Japanese carriers launched their attacks at each other.

1942 – The United States began food rationing.

1954 – The first intercollegiate court tennis match was played in the U.S. It was between Yale and Princeton.

1961 – Thirteen civil rights activists, dubbed “Freedom Riders,” began a bus trip through the South.

1964 – “Another World” premiered on NBC-TV.

1970 – The Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire on students during an anti-Vietnam war protest at Kent State University. Four students were killed and nine others were wounded.

1979 – Margaret Thatcher became Britain’s first woman prime minister.

1981 – The Federal Reserve Board raised its discount rate to 14%.

1987 – Live models were used for the first time in Playtex bra ads.

1987 – The First Bank of the United States was listed as a National Historic Landmark.

1994 – Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat signed a historic accord on Palestinian autonomy that granted self-rule in the Gaza Strip and Jericho.

2000 – The citizens of London elected their mayor for the first time.

2003 – Idaho Gem was born. He was the first member of the horse family to be cloned.

2010 – Pablo Picasso’s “Nude, Green Leaves and Bust” sold for $106.5 million.

2012 – In Las Vegas, NV, Google received the first self-driving vehicle testing license.

The American twenty-cent piece was a coin struck from 1875 to 1878, but only for collectors in the final two years. Proposed by Nevada Senator John P. Jones, it ultimately proved to be a failure due to its confusion with the quarter. The twenty-cent piece was close in both size and value to the quarter, leading to mix-ups. Here are some key points about this intriguing coin:

1. Inception and Authorization:
   • A twenty-cent piece had been proposed as early as 1791 and again in 1806, but both attempts were rejected.
   • Americans were already familiar with the denomination due to the Spanish two reales piece, which passed for twenty cents in the United States.
   • In the 1870s, there was a shortage of small change in the far West, where base-metal coins did not circulate.
2. Design and Confusion:
   • The twenty-cent piece was designed with an obverse (heads) and reverse similar to other silver coins.
   • Despite having a smooth edge (unlike reeded edges on other silver coins), it was immediately confused with the quarter due to its size and similarity in design.
   • After the first year, during which over a million were minted, there was little demand, and the denomination was abolished in 1878.
3. Collectibility and Rarity:
   • The 1878 Twenty-Cent piece is a Proof-only final year issue.
   • It is considered scarce, popular, and valuable, with prices ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 in high grades¹².
   • The total mintage was relatively low, and at least a third of the coins were later melted by the government.

In numismatic history, the twenty-cent piece remains a fascinating chapter that closed almost before it began¹

Source: BingAI