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Today's featured article

Reverse of the double sovereign

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...)

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Today's featured picture

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.

Photograph credit: Ivar Leidus

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In the News

Claudia Sheinbaum

The CNSA Chang'e 6 completes sampling and takeoff from the far side of the Moon.
Claudia Sheinbaum (pictured) is elected as the president of Mexico.
In association football, the UEFA Champions League concludes with Real Madrid defeating Borussia Dortmund in the men's final and Barcelona defeating Lyon in the women's final.
Former U.S. president Donald Trump is found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records.

Did you know?

Antimonumento 5J

... 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 one of SZA's songs name-drops such figures as a boxer, a stand-up comedian, and Jesus?
... that Shushu/Tong is a brand that creates fashion collections inspired by magical girl anime such as Puella Magi Madoka Magica?
... 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 Herschel the sea lion was defended by Greenpeace?
... that Taiwanese long jumper Lin Yu-tang qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics by switching out his broken track shoes between attempts?
... that when Yuba County's library was built in 1906, it had a smoking room?
... 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?

On this day...

June 5: World Environment Day; Jerusalem Day in Israel (2024)

Antonio Luna

1897 – The Ancient Temples and Shrines Preservation Law was passed, instituting the protection of structures and artifacts in Japan designated National Treasures.
1899 – Antonio Luna (pictured), Commanding General of the Philippine Army, was assassinated in the midst of the Philippine–American War.
1997 – Anticipating a coup attempt, President Pascal Lissouba of the Republic of the Congo ordered the detention of his rival Denis Sassou Nguesso, initiating a second civil war.
2004 – Noël Mamère, the mayor of Bègles, conducted a marriage ceremony for two men, even though same-sex marriage in France had not yet been legalised.
2009 – After almost two months of civil disobedience, at least 31 people were killed in clashes between the National Police and indigenous people in Bagua Province, Peru.

Ivy Compton-Burnett (b. 1884)
Theippan Maung Wa (b. 1899)
Elizabeth Gloster (b. 1949)
Megumi Nakajima (b. 1989)

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