The double sovereign is a gold coin of the United Kingdom with a nominal value of two pounds sterling (£2). It features the reigning monarch on its obverse and, most often, Benedetto Pistrucci's depiction of Saint George and the Dragon on the reverse (pictured). It was rarely issued in the first century and a half after its debut in 1820, usually in a new monarch's coronation year or to mark the institution of a new coinage portrait of the monarch. In addition to the usual coinage in Britain, specimens were struck at Australia's Sydney Mint in 1887 and 1902. Most often struck as a proof coin, the double sovereign has been issued for circulation in only four years, and few examples worn from commercial use are known. It is now a collector and bullion coin, and has been struck by the Royal Mint most years since 1980. In some years, it has not been issued and the Royal Mint instead placed gold versions of the commemorative £2 piece in the annual gold proof sets. (Full article...)
... that the Antimonumento 5J(pictured) was installed on 5 June 2023 to commemorate victims of police repression during the 2020 protests in response to the death of Giovanni López?
... that Cypress College basketball coach Don Johnson, who was an All-American at UCLA, developed two players with minimal experience who later played for his alma mater and set records in the NBA?
... that Peter Demetz, who taught German literature at Yale University from 1956 to 1991, was born in Prague where he was persecuted under the Nazis and escaped the Communist regime in 1949?
... that a municipal purchase of 177 motorcycles by Hevearita Gunaryanti Rahayu, the mayor of Semarang, Indonesia, caused a social media controversy due to media misreporting?
1897 – The Ancient Temples and Shrines Preservation Law was passed, instituting the protection of structures and artifacts in Japan designated National Treasures.
The Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae, which is native to western North America. The trees grow to a height of around 20 to 100 metres (70 to 330 feet) and commonly reach 2.4 metres (8 feet) in diameter. The largest coast Douglas firs regularly live for more than 500 years, with the oldest specimens more than 1,300 years old. The cones are pendulous and differ from true firs as they have persistent scales. The cones have distinctive long, trifid (three-pointed) bracts, which protrude prominently above each scale. The cones become tan when mature, measuring 6 to 10 centimetres (2+1⁄2 to 4 inches) long for coastal Douglas firs. This photograph shows a young female cone of the variety Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca (Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir), cultivated near Keila, Estonia.
Sir Thomas Bodley, founder of the Bodleian Library
The head of the Bodleian Library, the main library at the University of Oxford in England, is known as Bodley's Librarian: both are named after the founder, Sir Thomas Bodley(pictured). Although Oxford had had a university library since about 1320, it had declined by the end of the 16th century, so Bodley offered in 1598 to restore it. The first Librarian, Thomas James, was selected in 1599, and the Bodleian opened in 1602. Bodley wanted the Librarian to be diligent, a linguist, unmarried and not a parish priest, although James persuaded him to dispense with the last two requirements. In all, 24 people have served as Bodley's Librarian, some less well than others, with John Price (who held the post from 1768 to 1813) accused of "a regular and constant neglect of his duty". The current Librarian, Sarah Thomas, was appointed in 2007; she is the first woman, and the first foreign librarian, to run the Bodleian. She said that when she saw the job description, "it was love at first sight". (more...)
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