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History
Posted Jan 27,2010
In 1893 the ultimate cheap
souvenir was born. That’s
when a Chicago jeweler used
a metal-rolling machine to
stretch coins and press the
words “Columbian Exposition”
onto them. Today coins
are flattened and impressed
with an image at thousands
of U.S. tourist spots and
as far away as China, says
George Strang, whose
Press-A-Penny firm manufactures
rolling machines.
American customers put in
two or four quarters plus
a penny. Collectors design
and press coins to trade
online, while entrepreneurs
squish them to hype products,
say “Merry Christmas,”
and sell as wedding favors.
Few of the coins are worth
a lot in dollars, but they
can harbor priceless memories.
Collector Ray Dillard
recalls a souvenir penny
with a Hawaiian king on the
front and a hand-scratched
list of Pacific battles a
WWII soldier had added
to the back.
—Marc Silver
Posted by National Geographic Staff |
Filed Under:
History,
Wide AnglePosted Dec 8,2009
A fourth-century Bible that includes the earliest known complete copy of the New Testament now has a 21st-century address:
codexsinaiticus.org. For much of its existence, the sacred text—handwritten on parchment in ancient Greek—resided at St. Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai, from which it takes its name. As with many old manuscripts, it was eventually split up, and some of it was lost. Only 823 of an estimated 1,487 pages survive.
Posted by National Geographic Staff |
Filed Under:
History,
Wide AnglePosted Aug 25,2009
Few inventors can claim credit for saving more than a million lives, but Nils Bohlin is one of them. Fifty years ago the Volvo engineer modified an airplane device and came up with the three-point seat belt—one strap across the hips, one across the chest, both anchored to the same point on the car floor.
Posted by National Geographic Staff |
Filed Under:
History,
Wide AnglePosted Mar 6,2009
The 1787 Fugio cent (top) was the first coin authorized by the U.S. government. Four new "tails" for the 2009 penny will pay tribute to Abraham Lincoln's life.
They are buried behind cushions, spit out by parking meters, and cursed by cashiers, yet pennies, apparently, are still loved by Americans. Hence the Treasury is issuing four new designs to honor the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth.
Posted by Marc Silver |
Filed Under:
History,
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