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>>> Il Duomo
August 7, 1420
by Jesús Vico and Marisa Ollero.
(re-posted from V-Coins) - https://www.vcoins.com/
By the beginning of the 15th century, after a hundred years of construction, the structure was still missing its dome. The basic features of the dome had been designed by Arnolfo di Cambio in 1296. His brick model, 4.6 metres high, 9.2 metres long, was standing in a side aisle of the unfinished building, and had long been sacrosanct. It called for an octagonal dome higher and wider than any that had ever been built, with no external buttresses to keep it from spreading and falling under its own weight.
The commitment to reject traditional Gothic buttresses had been made when Neri di Fioravanti's model was chosen over a competing one by Giovanni di Lapo Ghini. That architectural choice, in 1367, was one of the first events of the Italian Renaissance, marking a break with the Medieval Gothic style and a return to the classic Mediterranean dome. Italian architects regarded Gothic flying buttresses as ugly makeshifts. Furthermore, the use of buttresses was forbidden in Florence, as the style was favored by central Italy's traditional enemies to the north. Neri's model depicted a massive inner dome, open at the top to admit light, like Rome's Pantheon, but enclosed in a thinner outer shell, partly supported by the inner dome, to keep out the weather. It was to stand on an unbuttressed octagonal drum. Neri's dome would need an internal defense against spreading but none had yet been designed.
The building of such a masonry dome posed many technical problems. Brunelleschi looked to the great dome of the Pantheon in Rome for solutions. The dome of the Pantheon is a single shell of concrete, the formula for which had long since been forgotten. The Pantheon had employed structural centring to support the concrete dome while it cured. This could not be the solution in the case of a dome this size and would put the church out of use. For the height and breadth of the dome designed by Neri, starting 52 metres above the floor and spanning 44 metres, there was not enough timber in Tuscany to build the scaffolding and forms. Brunelleschi chose to follow such design and employed a double shell, made of sandstone and marble. Brunelleschi would have to build the dome out of brick, due to its light weight compared to stone and being easier to form, and with nothing under it during construction. To illustrate his proposed structural plan, he constructed a wooden and brick model with the help of Donatello and Nanni di Banco, a model which is still displayed in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo. The model served as a guide for the craftsmen, but was intentionally incomplete, so as to ensure Brunelleschi's control over the construction.
Brunelleschi's solutions were ingenious, such as his use of the catenary arch for support. The spreading problem was solved by a set of four internal horizontal stone and iron chains, serving as barrel hoops, embedded within the inner dome: one at the top, one at the bottom, with the remaining two evenly spaced between them. A fifth chain, made of wood, was placed between the first and second of the stone chains. Since the dome was octagonal rather than round, a simple chain, squeezing the dome like a barrel hoop, would have put all its pressure on the eight corners of the dome. The chains needed to be rigid octagons, stiff enough to hold their shape, so as not to deform the dome as they held it together.
Brunelleschi also included vertical "ribs" set on the corners of the octagon, curving towards the center point. The ribs, 4 metres deep, are supported by 16 concealed ribs radiating from the center. The ribs had slits to take beams that supported platforms, thus allowing the work to progress upward without the need for scaffolding.
A circular masonry dome can be built without supports, called centering, because each course of bricks is a horizontal arch that resists compression. In Florence, the octagonal inner dome was thick enough for an imaginary circle to be embedded in it at each level, a feature that would hold the dome up eventually, but could not hold the bricks in place while the mortar was still wet. Brunelleschi used a herringbone brick pattern to transfer the weight of the freshly laid bricks to the nearest vertical ribs of the non-circular dome.
A modern understanding of physical laws and the mathematical tools for calculating stresses were centuries in the future. Brunelleschi, like all cathedral builders, had to rely on intuition and whatever he could learn from the large scale models he built. To lift 37,000 tons of material, including over 4 million bricks, he invented hoisting machines and lewissons for hoisting large stones. These specially designed machines and his structural innovations were Brunelleschi's chief contribution to architecture. Although he was executing an aesthetic plan made half a century earlier, it is his name, rather than Neri's, that is associated with the dome.
Brunelleschi's ability to crown the dome with a lantern was questioned and he had to undergo another competition, even though there had been evidence that Brunelleschi had been working on a design for a lantern for the upper part of the dome. The evidence is shown in the curvature, which was made steeper than the original model. He was declared the winner over his competitors Lorenzo Ghiberti and Antonio Ciaccheri. His design was for an octagonal lantern with eight radiating buttresses and eight high arched windows. Construction of the lantern was begun a few months before his death in 1446. Then, for 15 years, little progress was possible, due to alterations by several architects. The lantern was finally completed by Brunelleschi's friend Michelozzo in 1461. The conical roof was crowned with a gilt copper ball and cross, containing holy relics.
The commission for this bronze ball atop the lantern went to the sculptor Andrea del Verrocchio, in whose workshop there was at this time a young apprentice named Leonardo da Vinci. Fascinated by Brunelleschi's machines, which Verrocchio used to hoist the ball, Leonardo made a series of sketches of them and, as a result, is often given credit for their invention.
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>>>> Bank of Canada continues appeal, but Trekkies still alter $5 bank notes
By Arthur L. Friedberg
Coin World
Jul 20, 2019
https://www.coinworld.com/news/paper-money/bank-of-canada-continues-appeal-but-trekkies-still-alter-$5-bank-notes
The Bank of Canada would like individuals to stop turning a portrait Sir Wilfrid Laurier into a portrait of Mister Spock from Star Trek. Some $10 Federal Reserve notes are also being altered, including this one with Alexander Hamilton turned into Princess Leia of Star Wars.
Paper money collectors are used to looking to Paper Money Guaranty and its chat boards for currency discussions, so it was only a small leap for Canadian paper money to become a subject on the chat board of its CGC Comics affiliate.
The more than four-year-old story won’t go away, and it is giving the Bank of Canada fits. It started when the American actor Leonard Nimoy, who played the character of Mister Spock on the TV show Star Trek, died on Feb. 27, 2015.
Trekkies in Canada found a unique way to pay tribute to him. Using the $5 bill from the Canadian Journeys series, issued in 2002 and 2006, they altered the portrait of Sir Wilfrid Laurier to make him look more like Spock, complete with the typical Vulcan pointed ears, haircut, and eyebrows.
At the time, the Toronto Star reported that some people felt Laurier’s face wasn’t that interesting, anyway, so this was a permanent improvement to the currency. The Bank of Canada wasn’t so thrilled and issued a statement saying that although the alterations were not illegal, “... there are important reasons why it should not be done. Writing on a bank note may interfere with the security features and reduces its lifespan. Markings on a note may also prevent it from being accepted in a transaction. Furthermore, the Bank of Canada feels that writing and markings on bank notes are inappropriate as they are a symbol of our country and a source of national pride.”
The bank’s appeal to propriety and reason did not have much effect, and early this month, the request was all over the news once again, prompting one Reddit wag to post “The very, very best way to make something happen more is to publicly ask for people to stop doing it.”
There’s more. The website truestrange.com posted not only the Spock alteration, but a half dozen similarly doctored U.S. $10 bills on which Alexander Hamilton is transformed into luminaries such as Willy Wonka, Yoda, and Van Gogh. Showing deference to women in altered bank note design, some notes’ portraits are modified to resemble Princess Leia and Frida Kahlo.
Nimoy’s Star Trek sidekick, William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk, actually is Canadian.
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Anyone looking for interesting alternatives to the usual gold bullion coins (Eagles, Maples) might want to consider the Australian Swan series, which began in 2017. This series (in silver and gold) has become extremely popular, with each year having a different design, and the mintage for the gold BU version is a minuscule 5000 pieces. In contrast, Eagles and Maples are minted in the millions, so at 5000 these Swans should always command a sizable premium.
The 2017 and 2018 versions are currently up to $1658, and $1628 respectively, and the new 2019 is going for $1498 and will likely also move up into the 1600+ range once the series sells out. So the cost is approx $50 more than an Eagle, but that premium should grow toward $150+ over time. If you get these Swans when they come out, you're pretty much guaranteed a profit, and it's a nice set to collect, and they're .9999 which is rapidly becoming the new global standard for purity.
While US Eagles are extremely liquid, their purity is still only 22 carat, which isn't a problem now, but some day might conceivably become an issue since additional refining would be required to produce .9999 bars from the coins. Personally I wouldn't worry about it, but Canadian Maples are an option (.9999), and there are some .99999 Canadian coins also available.
I really like these Swans -
2017 -
2018 -
2019 -
>>> Record-breaking coin auction fetches $106.7 million
4-1-17
Associated Press
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/record-breaking-coin-auction-fetches-dollar1067-million/ar-BBzafaQ?OCID=ansmsnnews11
This image provided by Stack's Bowers Galleries shows a rare 1804 silver dollar. The rare silver dollar fetched almost $3.3 million dollars in what officials say is a record-breaking coin collection auction, Friday, March 31, 2017. The five auction events were held over the past two years by Stack's Bowers Galleries of Santa Ana, California, in conjunction with Sotheby's in Baltimore.(Stack's Bowers Galleries via AP)© The Associated Press This image provided by Stack's Bowers Galleries shows a rare 1804 silver dollar. The rare silver dollar fetched almost $3.3 million dollars in what officials say is a record-br…
BALTIMORE — A rare 1804 silver dollar fetched almost $3.3 million dollars in what officials say is a record-breaking coin collection auction.
A five-part sale of the D. Brent Pogue coin collection that ended Friday netted a total of almost $106.7 million.
The five auction events were held over the past two years by Stack's Bowers Galleries of Santa Ana, California, in conjunction with Sotheby's in Baltimore.
Friday's final auction yielded about $21.4 million, including the 1804 dollar, an 1811 half cent that brought $998,750, and a 1793 Liberty Cap cent that sold for $940,000, making it the most valuable circulated cent ever sold.
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>>> Falklands' commemorative coin will have to remove “Britannia rules the waves”
July 20th 2017
http://en.mercopress.com/2017/07/20/falklands-commemorative-coin-will-have-to-remove-britannia-rules-the-waves
Pobjoy Mint “was not aware” that Britannia is trademarked on coin, according to the firm. It was later confirmed that the trademark resides with the Royal Mint
The Pobjoy Mint on July 18 announced that a trademark infringement necessitated the firm to remove the word BRITANNIA from the Reverse Proof 2017 .999 fine silver 1-ounce bullion coins minted for the Falkland Islands.
The change during production means that a total of 7,329 coins have been issued with the inscription, creating a relatively low-mintage version of the coin.
“We will be restarting production of these coins without the inscription for the remaining 42,671 of the issue limit,” according to a statement from the Pobjoy Mint.
Pobjoy Mint “was not aware” that Britannia is trademarked on coin, according to the firm. It was later confirmed that the trademark resides with the Royal Mint, based on a search with the United Kingdom’s Intellectual Property Office, but a representative of the Royal Mint had not responded to an inquiry at press time July 18.
The image of Britannia will be retained on the reverse, but the inscription BRITANNIA RULES THE WAVES will simply be removed and no legend will replace it.
The coin in its initial version went on sale June 13.
Within hours of the announcement about the inscription change, online auction sellers reacted, acknowledging the design type change and adjusting prices upward or halting sales of the coins temporarily.
The 1-ounce coin had a mintage limit of 50,000 pieces, but the Pobjoy Mint generally does not disclose sales figures; whether the actual mintage of the second variant will be acknowledged is yet to be determined.
The obverse side, with the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II, is not being changed.
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>>> Rare Coin Found in Boy's Lunch Money Worth $1.7m
Newsweek
Kashmira Gander
1-9-18
A rare coin found by a high schooler in his lunch money has been valued at almost $1.7million, following the owner's death.
Don Lutes, Jr., of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, found the bronze 1943 Lincoln cent in the change he was given at his school cafeteria in 1947, according to sellers Heritage Auctions.
The coin is one of around 20 Lincoln pennies printed with a copper-looking surface, Fox News reported. It is expected to fetch up to $1.65 million at auction.
"This lot represents a true 'once in a lifetime' opportunity," Heritage Auctions told potential buyers on its website.
In 1943, the Treasury Department requested the US Mint create Lincoln pennies on steel planchets coated with zinc in order to preserve cooper for use in the Second World War. But talk of the existence of rare copper pennies made that year soon emerged, and rumors swirled that car giant Henry Ford would give a vehicle to anyone who could present him with one of the specimens.
“Stories appeared in newspapers, comic books, and magazines and a number of fake copper-plated steel cents were passed off as fabulous rarities to unsuspecting purchasers,” Heritage Auctions explained on its website. The US Mint rejected claims that the 1943 Lincoln copper cents existed.
However, it was later revealed some bronze planchets were mistakenly left in machinery before the so-called “steelies” were pressed.
“The few resulting 'copper' cents were lost in the flood of millions of "steel" cents struck in 1943 and escaped detection by the Mint's quality control measures,” Heritage Auctions said.
“They quietly slipped into circulation, to amaze collectors and confound Mint officials for years to come.”
Between 10 to 15 of the coins with a copper appearance made in facilities including the Mints of Philadelphia, San Francisco and Denver are thought to exist today.
When then 16-year-old Lutes was handed the copper cent, he recalled the “steel” cents created in 1943, and was intrigued by the specimen’s copper finish, Heritage Auctions stated. Buoyed by the Henry Ford rumor, he contacted the car firm, but they informed him it was false.
Lutes also got in touch with the Treasury Department about his find. Their standard reply simply read: "In regard to your recent inquiry, please be informed that copper pennies were not struck in 1943. All pennies struck in 1943 were zinc coated steel."
So Lutes concluded his coin was probably valueless, and stored it as a curiosity in his coin collection for the next seven decades.
A separate bronze cent found in the 1950s sold for a $40,000 at the time, or around $357,281 in today’s money.
After Lutes passed away in September, his coin was given its eye-watering potential value.
Sarah Miller of Heritage Auctions told SWNS (via Fox): "This is the most famous error coin in American numismatics and that’s what makes this so exciting.
“No one really knows what it’s going to sell for.”
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