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William Wyon's coinage bust of William IV

William IV's British coinage, struck between 1831 and 1837, ranged from the double sovereign to the third farthing, though the former was not minted for circulation and the latter only for colonial use. The coins have an obverse (pictured) by William Wyon based on a sketch by Francis Chantrey, and reverses by Wyon and Jean Baptiste Merlen, both of the Royal Mint. Preparation began even before William became king in June 1830, probably because Wyon wanted to head off a potential challenge from Benedetto Pistrucci. Wyon's work was viewed by the king, who liked it and ordered it to be used for all coins during his reign. Final designs were approved in early 1831, and coining began that year. In addition to the issues for use in Britain, several small denominations were struck for colonial use. Two of these, the half farthing and silver threepence, were later issued for use in Britain. William's reign saw no great innovations in coinage, but marked the start of reform at the Royal Mint. (Full article...)

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On this day

June 13

Aftermath of the June 2011 Christchurch earthquake

1850 – The American League of Colored Laborers, one of the first labor unions for African Americans, was established in New York City.
1916 – World War I: The Battle of Mont Sorrel in the Ypres Salient came to an end as a Canadian assault led German forces to withdraw to their original lines.
1971 – The New York Times published the first excerpts from the Pentagon Papers, a 7,000-page classified Department of Defense history of the United States' political and military involvement in the Vietnam War.
1981 – English teenager Marcus Sarjeant fired six blanks at Queen Elizabeth II as she rode down The Mall to the Trooping the Colour ceremony.
2011 – A 6.0 M_w earthquake (aftermath pictured) caused up to NZ$6 billion of additional damage to Christchurch, New Zealand, which was still recovering from an earthquake four months earlier.

Mansur I (d. 976)
Veronica Gambara (d. 1550)
Jean-Baptiste Benoît Eyriès (d. 1846)
Thabo Bester (b. 1986)

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Today's featured picture

Corpus Christi College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1517 by Richard Foxe, Bishop of Winchester, it is located on Merton Street, between Merton College and Christ Church. One of Oxford's smaller colleges, Corpus Christi is noted for its historic library, its role in the translation of the King James Version of the Bible, and its gardens overlooking Christ Church Meadow. Former students and fellows include Reginald Pole, John Keble, Isaiah Berlin, Vikram Seth, and politicians David and Ed Miliband. This photograph shows the college's main quadrangle, including the Pelican Sundial, which was erected in 1581 by Charles Turnbull.

Photograph: Andrew Shiva

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