? Please settle our argument ? did James Longacre or Franklin Peale design the silver three-cent coin?
The design for the issue coin was Longacre?s, but Peale is credited with an 1850 pattern copied from Gobrecht?s pattern for an 1836 gold dollar. While checking this I noticed that many writers tend to gloss over the differences between patterns and actual issue coins. This may have been the root cause for your difference of opinion.
? Was there an American engraver by the name of Eue?
Your man is Francis Eue, also known as Franz or Hans Eue. He worked for the Medallic Art firm in the 1930s. Reportedly he was so prolific that his output was mistaken for the work of an entire company. Research by D. Wayne Johnson in the TAMS Journal proved he was just one man.
? Is the drachm weight used by druggists the same weight as the original drachm?
When the Greeks used the drachm as a measure of weight before the birth of Christ it was equal to one-eighth of a troy ounce of silver, or 3.887 grams. This is the current value of the apothecary?s weight. The weights frequently turn up in coin junk boxes to puzzle collectors. They are round brass pieces that have some strange letters and what appears to be a large ?3ii? on one side, which is misleading since the weight is actually 2 drachms.
? What happened to Robert Morris after he paved the way for our first Mint?
Morris was Pennsylvania?s first Senator in the first U.S. Congress. In 1798 he suffered financial reverses, went bankrupt and spent more than three years in debtor?s prison. He died in poverty in 1806.
? Who was the designer of the coins struck for the Philippines under the U.S. administration?
We have to exert a bit of care here since several sources have some incorrect information about the artist. His name was Melecio Figueroa and he was a native of the Philippines, not California. He was trained in Spain and worked at the Manilla Mint under Spain, later designing the coins that were put into circulation in 1903. His wife was the model for the silver coin obverse.
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