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From today's featured article The two-cent piece was produced by the U.S. Mint for circulation from 1864 to 1872 and for collectors in 1873. It was designed by James B. Longacre. The economic turmoil of the American Civil War caused government-issued coins, even the non-silver Indian Head cent, to vanish from circulation, hoarded by the public. One means of filling this gap was private token issues, often made of bronze. The cent at that time was struck of a copper-nickel alloy. The piece was difficult for the Philadelphia Mint to strike, and Mint officials, as well as the annual Assay Commission, recommended the coin's replacement. Despite opposition from those wishing to keep the metal nickel in the coinage, Congress passed the Coinage Act of 1864, authorizing bronze cents and two-cent pieces. Although initially popular in the absence of other federal coinage, the two-cent piece's place in circulation was later usurped by the three-cent piece and the nickel. There were decreasing mintages each year, and it was abolished by the Mint Act of 1873. Large quantities were redeemed by the government and melted. Nevertheless, two-cent pieces remain inexpensive by the standards of 19th-century American coinage. (Full article...) Recently featured: Hurricane Kiko (1989) – Paramount Television Network – Banksia grossa Did you know... From Wikipedia's new and recently improved content: ... that girls were first admitted to Norwich School (pictured) in 1994, marking the end of nearly 900 years of single-sex education at the school? ... that both the chairman and the senior vice chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Awami League were killed in 2003? ... that actor Michael Thomson toured a hospital to help him prepare for his role as Jonny Maconie in Holby City? ... that Susan Stryker's book Transgender History discusses the Compton's Cafeteria riot and other transgender protests of the 1960s? ... that minigenes have been used to study isolated growth hormone deficiency? ... that Daisy Voog was the first woman to reach the summit of the Eiger via the mountain's north face?

In the news At the Boston Marathon, American Meb Keflezighi wins the men's race and Kenyan Rita Jeptoo (pictured) wins the women's race. An avalanche on Mount Everest kills sixteen Nepalese guides. Abdelaziz Bouteflika is re-elected President of Algeria. Fifty-eight people are killed in an attack on a United Nations base in Bor, South Sudan, during an ongoing conflict. Advanced Cell Technology announces that it created new human embryonic stem cells by fusing DNA from an adult with an enucleated egg cell, a form of human cloning. Recent deaths: Rubin "Hurricane" Carter On this day... April 22: Earth Day 1500 – Portuguese explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral and his crew landed in present day Brazil and claimed the land for Portugal. 1889 – Over 50,000 people rushed to claim a piece of the available two million acres (8,000 km2) in the Unassigned Lands, the present-day U.S. state of Oklahoma, entirely founding the brand-new Oklahoma City. 1911 – Tsinghua University ("The Old Gate" pictured), one of the leading universities in mainland China, was founded, funded by an unexpected surplus in indemnities paid by the Qing Dynasty to the United States as a result of the Boxer Rebellion. 1969 – British yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston won the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race to complete the first solo non-stop circumnavigation of the world. 2004 – Flammable cargo exploded at Yongcheon Station in Ryongchon, North Korea, killing 160 people. More anniversaries: April 21 – April 22 – April 23 It is now April 22, 2014 (UTC) – Reload this page

Today's featured picture A panoramic view of Bangalore from Corporation Circle, with UB City to the left and Richmond area to the right. The third largest city in India, the city is known as the Silicon Valley of India for its numerous IT exports. Photograph: Muhammad Mahdi Karim Recently featured: Sir Galahad – Royal Albert Hall – Collignon projection

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