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Some airports restrict or deny GA parking , and others limit or refuse certain GA activity . These operations are commercially and operationally incompatible with GA , and although there is no evidence of deliberate discrimination , the effect has been to discourage or exclude it . Regional airports , such as Edinburgh Airport , have experienced strong growth in CAT operations in recent years . GA aircraft are being subject to significant increases in charges , including the imposition of handling fees in some cases . As a result , light GA aircraft are now rarely or never seen at large , busy international airports such as Heathrow , Stansted , Gatwick and Manchester . |
Referring to the importance of a " functioning national network of GA airfields " , especially where GA performs an air transport role , the CAA states that " there could be cause for concern if a significant further loss of airfields were to continue , especially if crucial nodes on the transport network were to be lost . " and Bristol Filton Airport . In addition to this de facto loss of facilities , the number of aerodromes in the UK has been in decline over the last 50 years , as a result of increasing urbanisation and the closure of airfields built during WWII . Alternative and more profitable uses for land can also lead to existing aerodromes being threatened with closure , for example North Weald , or actually being closed , as happened to Ipswich Airport. |
= = = Planning system = = = |
The planning system is critical to the viability and operation of GA aerodromes . Because aircraft are excluded from noise control legislation , the only recourse for people affected by aircraft noise is through the planning process , and this issue is the principal factor on which the majority of planning decisions relating to GA land use are made . Such restrictions , if poorly conceived , can make GA operations unviable or even unsafe . However , there is no unified national planning policy specific to GA aerodromes , and planning decisions relating to these are based on local issues that are not required to consider the national impact . With many cities lacking scheduled air transport services between them , and with GA access to commercial airports becoming increasingly difficult and expensive , a viable network of aerodromes supporting GA air transport operations is regarded as an important national issue . GA is a specialist subject often unfamiliar to Local Planning Authorities , and most planning decisions relating to GA either refuse permission , or grant it with restrictive conditions . Little Gransden is just one example of a GA airfield required to comply with planning restrictions on the number of movements permitted , thereby inhibiting further development . |
= = Criticism = = |
Public opinion towards aviation generally is worsening , based on increasing environmental concerns relating to emissions and noise , and private flying has been criticised by respondents to a government consultation on aircraft noise as a frivolous or selfish activity . Half of the 2 @,@ 000 noise complaints made annually to the CAA concern GA operations , most of which relate to aerobatics , helicopters using private sites , air balloon incidents , parachute dropping , and alleged low flying . In terms of environmental complaints and enquiries made to the CAA that relate specifically to GA , noise is " by far " the most common subject . |
This is a result of the tonal characteristics of light aircraft engines and the activities they are engaged in , including : repetitive circuit flying at low @-@ altitude near an aerodrome , during which aircraft are audible for long periods ; slow climbing aircraft engaged in parachute drop or glider tug activities concentrated around the drop zone or aerodrome , also audible for long periods ; erratic and repetitive engine noise from aircraft engaged in aerobatics ; and piston @-@ engines on full power in areas of low background noise , leading to the perception that such noise is more intrusive . In an attempt to alleviate these problems , the majority of aerodromes implement noise abatement procedures designed to route aircraft away from noise sensitive areas , and more than 50 are required by the government to provide consultative facilities in which local concerns can be raised with aerodrome operators . Planning guidance on aircraft noise advises that " in some circumstances the public perceive general aircraft noise levels as more disturbing than similar levels around major airports . " |
= SMS Zrínyi =
|
Kriegsmarine ) , named for the Zrinski , a noble Croatian family . Zrínyi and her sisters , Erzherzog Franz Ferdinand and Radetzky , were the last pre @-@ dreadnoughts built by the Austro @-@ Hungarian Navy . SMS Zrínyi ( " His Majesty 's ship Zrínyi " ) was a Radetzky @-@ class pre @-@ dreadnought battleship ( Schlachtschiff ) of the Austro @-@ Hungarian Navy ( K.u.K. |
Nonetheless , the presence of the Zrínyi and other battleships tied down a substantial force of Allied ships . She served with the Second Division of the Austro @-@ Hungarian Navy 's battleships and shelled Senigallia as part of the bombardment of the key seaport of Ancona , Italy , during May 1915 . However , Allied control of the Strait of Otranto meant that the Austro @-@ Hungarian Navy was , for all intents and purposes , effectively bottled up in the Adriatic . During World War I , Zrínyi saw action in the Adriatic Sea . |
On 10 November 1918 — just one day before the end of the war , navy officers sailed the battleship out of Pola ( Pula ) and eventually surrendered to a squadron of American submarine chasers . Following the handover to the United States Navy , she was briefly designated USS Zrínyi . With the war going against the Austrians by the end of 1918 , Zrínyi was prepared to be transferred to the new State of Slovenes , Croats and Serbs . In the Treaty of Saint @-@ Germain @-@ en @-@ Laye , the transfer was not recognized ; instead , Zrínyi was given to Italy and broken up for scrap . |
= = Design and construction = = |
Zrínyi was built at the Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino dockyard in Trieste , the same place where her sister ships were built earlier . She was the last ship of the class to be completed and had a crew of 880 to 890 officers and men . The teak used on Zrínyi 's deck was the only material Austria @-@ Hungary had to purchase abroad to build the ship . She was laid down on 15 November 1908 and launched from the slipway on 12 April 1910 . The ship was completed by 15 July 1911 , and on 22 November 1911 she was commissioned into the fleet . |
The ship had a top speed of 20 @. Zrínyi was 138 @. @ 6 m ( 80 ft 8 in ) and a draft of 8 @. She was powered by two @-@ shaft four @-@ cylinder vertical triple expansion engines rated at 19 @,@ 800 indicated horsepower . @ 6 mph ) . She had a maximum range of 4 @,@ 000 nautical miles ( 7 @,@ 400 km ; 4 @,@ 600 mi ) at a cruising speed of 10 knots ( 19 km / h ; 12 mph ) . @ 5 knots ( 38 @. @ 8 m ( 455 ft 4 in ) long , and had a beam of 24 @. Zrínyi was the first warship in the Austro @-@ Hungarian Navy to use fuel oil to supplement her 12 Yarrow @-@ type coal @-@ fired boilers . She displaced 14 @,@ 508 long tons ( 14 @,@ 741 t ) normally , and up to 15 @,@ 845 long tons ( 16 @,@ 099 t ) with a full combat load . @ 0 km / h ; 23 @. @ 1 m ( 26 ft 9 in ) . |
@ 6 in ) landing guns for operations shore . @ 85 in ) L / 44 and one 47 mm L / 33 quick @-@ firing guns . @ 5 cm ( 12 in ) 45 @-@ caliber guns in two twin gun turrets . @ 7 in ) torpedo tubes were also carried , one on each broadside and one in the stern . The tertiary battery consisted of twenty 10 cm L / 50 guns in casemated single mounts , four 47 mm ( 1 @. @ 4 in ) guns in four wing turrets . This was augmented by a heavy secondary battery of eight 24 cm ( 9 @. Three 45 cm ( 17 @. The ship 's primary armament consisted of four 30 @. Furthermore , the ship 's boats were equipped with two 66 mm ( 2 @. |
= = Service history = = |
In 1912 , Zrínyi and her two sister ships conducted two training cruises into the eastern Mediterranean Sea . On the second cruise into the Aegean Sea , conducted from November to December , Zrínyi and her sister ships were accompanied by the cruiser SMS Admiral Spaun and a pair of destroyers . After returning to Pola , the entire fleet mobilized for possible hostilities , as tensions flared in the Balkans . The ship was assigned to the Austro @-@ Hungarian Fleet 's 1st Battle Squadron after her 1911 commissioning . |
The most important action of the combined flotilla , which was under the command of British Admiral Cecil Burney , was to blockade the Montenegrin coast . In 1913 , Zrínyi participated in an international naval demonstration in the Ionian Sea to protest the Balkan Wars . Pressured by the international blockade , Serbia withdrew its army from Scutari , which was subsequently occupied by a joint Allied ground force . The goal of the blockade was to prevent Serbian reinforcements from supporting the siege at Scutari , where Montenegro had besieged a combined force of Albanians and Ottomans . Ships from other navies included in the demonstration were the British pre @-@ dreadnought HMS King Edward VII , the Italian pre @-@ dreadnought Ammiraglio di Saint Bon , the French armored cruiser Edgar Quinet , and the German light cruiser SMS Breslau . |
During that year , the first of four new dreadnoughts , SMS Viribus Unitis , that made up the Tegetthoff class — the only dreadnoughts built for the Austro @-@ Hungarian Navy — came into active service . With the commissioning of these dreadnoughts , Zrínyi and her sisters were moved from the 1st Division to the 2nd Division of the 1st Battle Squadron . |
= = = World War I = = = |
The Austro @-@ Hungarian ships were then recalled before seeing action . Along with the remainder of the Austro @-@ Hungarian Navy , Zrínyi was mobilized in late July 1914 to support the flight of SMS Goeben and SMS Breslau . At that time of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria on 28 June 1914 , the battleships in the Austro @-@ Hungarian Navy consisted of the Radetzky class , the Tegetthoff class ( which still had one ship , SMS Szent István , under construction ) , the Erzherzog Karl class and finally , the older Habsburg class . The two German ships broke out of Messina , which was surrounded by the British navy and reached Turkey . The flotilla had advanced as far south as Brindisi in southeastern Italy when news of the successful breakout reached Vienna . |
The attack on Ancona was an immense success , and the ships were unopposed during the operation . On the shore , the infrastructure of the port of Ancona , as well as the surrounding towns , were severely damaged . The bombardment of Montenegro was part of the larger Austro @-@ Hungarian campaign against the Kingdoms of Montenegro and Serbia , who were members of the Entente , during the first half of 1915 . Their focus was on the important naval base at Ancona , and later the coast of Montenegro . By the time Italian ships from Taranto and Brindisi arrived on the scene , the Austro @-@ Hungarians were safely back in Pola . The bombardment of the province and the surrounding area resulted in the destruction of an Italian steamer in the port of Ancona itself , and an Italian destroyer , Turbine , was severely damaged further south . Sixty @-@ three Italians , both civilians and military personnel , were killed in the bombardment . Additional targets that were damaged or destroyed included wharves , warehouses , oil tanks , radio stations , and the local barracks . During the bombardment , Zrínyi also helped to destroy a train , a railway station , and a bridge at Senigallia . The local shore batteries were also suppressed . The railroad yard in Ancona , as well as the port facilities in the town , were damaged or destroyed . On 23 May 1915 , between two and four hours after news of the Italian declaration of war reached the main Austro @-@ Hungarian naval base at Pola , Zrínyi and the rest of the fleet departed to bombard the Italian and Montenegrin coast . |
The objective of the bombardment of Ancona was to delay the Italian Army from deploying its forces along the border with Austria @-@ Hungary by destroying critical transportation systems . The surprise attack on Ancona succeeded in delaying the Italian deployment to the Alps for two weeks . This delay gave Austria @-@ Hungary valuable time to strengthen its Italian border and re @-@ deploy some of its troops from the Eastern and Balkan fronts . |
Since coal was diverted to the newer Tegetthoff @-@ class battleships , the remainder of the war saw Zrínyi and the rest of the Austro @-@ Hungarian Navy acting as a fleet in being . Aside from the attack on Ancona , the Austro @-@ Hungarian battleships were largely confined to Pola for the duration of the war . Their operations were limited by Admiral Anton Haus , the commander of the Austro @-@ Hungarian Navy , who believed that he would need to husband his ships to counter any Italian attempt to seize the Dalmatian coast . With his fleet blockaded in the Adriatic Sea , and with a shortage of coal , Haus followed a strategy based on mines and submarines designed to reduce the numerical superiority of the Allied navies . This resulted in the Allied blockade of the Otranto Strait . |
= = = Post @-@ war fate = = = |
The initial American complement consisted of four officers and 174 enlisted men — the latter entirely composed of United States Navy Reserve Force personnel . They were soon spotted by heavy Italian ships , so the two battleships hoisted American flags and sailed south along the Adriatic coast to Castelli Bay near Spalato ( also known as Split ) . After the Austro @-@ Hungarian Empire collapsed in 1918 , the Austrians wanted to turn the fleet over to the newly created State of Slovenes , Croats and Serbs ( later to become a part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia ) in order to prevent the Italians from claiming the ships as spoils of war . Only once did she apparently turn her engines over , and that occurred during a severe gale that struck Spalato on 9 February 1920 . The ship had been boarded by a scratch Yugoslav crew on 10 November 1918 , one day before the Armistice , and had left Pola with her sister ship , Radetzky . Simultaneously she was commissioned as USS Zrínyi and Lieutenant E.E. Hazlett , USN , assumed command . However , the victorious Allies refused to acknowledge the conversations between the Austrians and the south Slavs and , in due course , reallocated the ships . She had apparently been turned over to the fledgling south Slav state , as it was a Croat naval officer , Korvettenkapitän Marijan Polić , who presented the ship as a prize of war to representatives of the United States Navy on the afternoon of 22 November 1919 at Spalato ( Split ) in Dalmatia . They appealed for American naval forces to meet them and accept their surrender , which a squadron of United States Navy ( USN ) submarine chasers in the area did . The ship remained at anchor at Spalato for nearly a year while the negotiations that would determine her ultimate fate dragged on . |
On the morning of 7 November 1920 , Zrínyi was decommissioned . USS Chattanooga took her in tow and , assisted by Brooks and Hovey , towed the battleship to Italy . She was broken up for scrap later that year and into 1921 . Under the terms of the treaties of Versailles and St. Germain , Zrínyi was ultimately turned over to the Italian government at Venice . |
= Geopyxis carbonaria =
|
It is found in Europe , Turkey , and North America . The small , goblet @-@ shaped fruitbodies of the fungus are reddish @-@ brown with a whitish fringe and measure up to 2 cm ( 0 @. Fruitbodies are commonly found on soil where brush has recently been burned , sometimes in great numbers . The fungus is distributed throughout many temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere . Although it is primarily a saprotrophic species , feeding on the decomposing organic matter remaining after a fire , it also forms biotrophic associations with the roots of Norway spruce . They have a short , tapered stalk . Geopyxis carbonaria is a species of fungus in the genus Geopyxis , family Pyronemataceae . First described to science in 1805 , and given its current name in 1889 , the species is commonly known as the charcoal loving elf @-@ cup , dwarf acorn cup , stalked bonfire cup , or pixie cup . @ 8 in ) across . |
= = Taxonomy = = |
Mordecai Cubitt Cooke illustrated the fruitbodies , spores , and asci in his 1879 work Mycographia , seu Icones fungorum . Pustularia carbonaria , published by Heinrich Rehm in 1884 , is a synonym of G. carbonaria . Figures of fungi from all parts of the world . sessilis in 1937 , referring to forms producing fruitbodies without a stalk , but the taxon is not considered to have independent taxonomic significance . This taxon was synonymized with G. carbonaria by Mien Rifai in 1968 , a taxonomic opinion corroborated by Donald Pfister about a decade later . Louis @-@ Joseph Grélet proposed the variety Geopyxis carbonaria var. In 1860 Miles Berkeley and Moses Ashley Curtis described the species Peziza lepida from collections made in Japan as part of the North Pacific Exploring and Surveying Expedition ( 1853 – 1856 ) . The fungus was first described scientifically in 1805 by Johannes Baptista von Albertini and Lewis David de Schweinitz as Peziza carbonaria . In 1889 , Pier Andrea Saccardo transferred the fungus to the genus Geopyxis , giving the species its current name . |
The specific epithet carbonaria derives from the Latin word for " charcoal " . Common names given to the fungus include " charcoal loving elf @-@ cup " , " dwarf acorn cup " , " pixie cup " , and the British Mycological Society approved " stalked bonfire cup " . |
= = Description = = |
The brownish flesh of the fungus is thin and brittle . The inner spore @-@ bearing surface of the cup , the hymenium , is brick red and smooth , while the exterior surface is a dull yellow , and may be either smooth or have blister @-@ like spots ( pustules ) . It does not have any distinctive taste , but has an unpleasant smell when crushed in water . The fruitbodies ( ascocarps ) of Geopyxis carbonaris are cup shaped , 1 – 2 cm wide , and have fringed whitish margins . The stipe is small ( 1 – 1 @. @ 5 mm long and 1 – 2 mm wide ) , whitish in color , and expands abruptly into the cup . The edibility of the fungus is not known , but the fruitbodies are insubstantial and unlikely to be harvested for eating . |
= = = Microscopic characteristics = = = |
The asci are 190 – 225 by 9 – 10 µm . The paraphyses are slightly club @-@ shaped , unbranched , and have irregular orange @-@ brown granules , with tips up to 5 µm wide , and are not forked or lobed . In mass , the spores are whitish . They are thin walled and germinate and grow rapidly in vitro in the absence of external stimuli . The spores are elliptical , smooth , hyaline , devoid of oil droplets ( eguttulate ) , and have dimensions of 13 – 18 by 7 – 9 µm . The hypothecium , the layer of cells below the hymenium , is made of densely packed , small irregular cells . |
= = = Similar species = = = |
It also has larger spores , measuring 14 – 22 by 8 – 11 µm . Unlike G. carbonaria , it grows on substrates other than burned wood , including mosses , and needle duff . It may be distinguished microscopically by its paraphyses , which lack the orange @-@ brown granules characteristic of G. carbonaria . The closely related vulcan elf cup ( Geopyxis vulcanalis ) has a pale orange to yellowish fruitbody that is deeply cup shaped before flattening in maturity , and its crushed flesh often has an odor of sulfur . Other genera with similar species with which G. carbonaria may be confused in the field include Aleuria , Caloscypha , Melastiza , and Sowerbyella . Tarzetta cupularis , which grows habitats similar to G. carbonaria , is distinguished microscopically by its spores that contain two oil droplets . |
= = Habitat and distribution = = |
Other cup fungi often found fruiting in the same area as G. carbonaria include those from the genera Aleuria , Anthracobia , Peziza , and Tarzetta . Most fruitbodies are produced in the first year after a burn . The fungus prefers fruiting in microhabitats with thin postfire duff near standing burned tree trunks . It is one of the most common pioneer species found on burned ground . Because the pixie cup fruits earlier than morels , it may serve as an indicator of imminent morel fruiting . The charred litter on the forest floor increases the underlying soil pH as well as the availability of minerals . Fruitbodies are produced from 16 to 139 weeks after a forest fire in areas with coniferous trees . Geopyxis carbonaria fruitbodies are often found in the same post @-@ fire stands as morels , although the former is usually more abundant . Geopyxis carbonaria is widespread on burned soil or charcoal in the spring and throughout the growing season . |
The fungus is found in Europe ( from where it was originally described ) , and is widespread throughout North America . In 2010 , it was reported for the first time from Turkey . The North American distribution extends north to Alaska . |
= = Ecology = = |
The formation of a rudimentary Hartig net , a characteristic of mycorrhizal fungi , indicated that G. carbonaria might be capable of forming mutualistic relationships under the right conditions . These traits suggest that the fungus is a moderate pathogen , with limited ability to cause reductions in seed germination . It had been demonstrated earlier in laboratory experiments that the fungus has a biotrophic interaction with lodgepole pine ( Pinus contorta ) . The hyphae of G. carbonaria were able to infect the cortex of the tree seedling , but did not penetrate the endodermis . Vrålstad and colleagues suggest that its below @-@ ground association with spruce roots protects it from physical damage in the event of a fire , and the extensive fruitbody production after a fire may reflect " a successful fungal escape from a dying host where the fungus no longer can maintain its biotrophic association " . Additionally , the fungus produces the enzyme polyphenol oxidase , and can break down the complex organic polymer lignin — features characteristic of saprotrophic fungi . Although primarily a saprotrophic fungus involved in the post @-@ fire breakdown of duff and coniferous roots , Geopyxis carbonaria has been shown to be capable of forming ectomycorrhizae with Norway spruce ( Picea abies ) . |
A field study conducted in Norway demonstrated that fruit bodies were more likely to be found in areas that were heavily burned , compared to locations with light to moderate burning where the trees remained viable , or in clearcut areas . Fruiting was much denser in spruce forests — with up to 700 – 1000 fruitbodies per square meter — than in pine forests , where fruitbodies were sporadic . Fruitbodies grew by the millions in the year following the Yellowstone fires of 1988 . Large fruitings of the fungus are often associated with damage to the host tree , such as that which occurs with burning . |
= Gold dollar =
|
The gold dollar or gold one @-@ dollar piece was a coin struck as a regular issue by the United States Bureau of the Mint from 1849 to 1889 . The Type 1 issue had the smallest diameter of any United States coin ever minted . The coin had three types over its lifetime , all designed by Mint Chief Engraver James B. Longacre . |
In its early years , silver coins were being hoarded or exported , and the gold dollar found a ready place in commerce . A gold dollar had been proposed several times in the 1830s and 1840s , but was not initially adopted . Silver again circulated after Congress in 1853 required that new coins of that metal be made lighter , and the gold dollar became a rarity in commerce even before federal coins vanished from circulation because of the economic disruption caused by the American Civil War . Congress was finally galvanized into action by the increased supply of bullion caused by the California gold rush , and in 1849 authorized a gold dollar . |
In its final years , it was struck in small numbers , causing speculation by hoarders . Gold did not again circulate in most of the nation until 1879 ; once it did , the gold dollar did not regain its place . It was also in demand to be mounted in jewelry . The regular issue gold dollar was last struck in 1889 ; the following year , Congress ended the series . |
= = Background = = |
Congress followed Hamilton 's recommendation only in part , authorizing a silver dollar , but no coin of that denomination in gold . In proposing his plan for a mint and a coinage system , Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton in 1791 proposed that the one @-@ dollar denomination be struck both as a gold coin , and as one of silver , representative of the two metals which he proposed be made legal tender . |
In 1831 , the first gold dollar was minted , at the private mint of Christopher Bechtler in North Carolina . Much of the gold then being produced in the United States came from the mountains of North Carolina and Georgia , and the dollars and other small gold coins issued by Bechtler circulated through that region , and were now and then seen further away . Additional one @-@ dollar pieces were struck by August Bechtler , Christopher 's son . |
Gobrecht 's design featured a Liberty cap surrounded by rays on one side , and a palm branch arranged in a circle with the denomination , date , and name of the country on the other . He was opposed by the Mint Director , Robert M. Patterson . Woodbury persuaded President Andrew Jackson to have pattern coins struck . Soon after the Bechtlers began to strike their private issues , Secretary of the Treasury Levi Woodbury became an advocate of having the Mint of the United States ( " Mint " , when described as an institution ) strike the one @-@ dollar denomination in gold . In response , Patterson had Mint Second Engraver Christian Gobrecht break off work on the new design for the silver one @-@ dollar coin and work on a pattern for the gold dollar . |
The Philadelphia newspaper Public Ledger , in December 1836 , supported a gold dollar , stating that " the dollar is the smallest gold coin that would be convenient , and as it would be eminently so , neither silver nor paper should be allowed to take its place . " Consideration was given to including the gold dollar as an authorized denomination in the revisionary legislation that became the Mint Act of 1837 . Nevertheless , after Mint Director Patterson appeared before a congressional committee , the provision authorizing the gold dollar was deleted from the bill . |
= = Inception = = |
Patterson had more of Gobrecht 's pattern dollar struck to show to committee members , again advising against a coin that if issued would be only about a half inch ( 13 mm ) in diameter . He told Treasury Secretary John C. Spencer that the only gold coins of that size in commerce , the Spanish and Colombian half @-@ escudos , were unpopular and had not been struck for more than twenty years . This seemed to satisfy the committee as nothing more was done for the time , and when a gold dollar was proposed again in 1846 , McKay 's committee recommended against it . In January 1844 , North Carolina Representative James Iver McKay , the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means , solicited the views of Director Patterson on the gold dollar . |
McKay amended his legislation to provide for a double eagle ( $ 20 gold coin ) and wrote to Patterson , who replied stating that the annular gold dollar would not work , and neither would another proposal to have dollar piece consisting of a gold plug in a silver coin . Even before 1848 , record amounts of gold were flowing to American mints to be struck into coin , but the California Gold Rush vastly increased these quantities . There was much discussion in the press about the proposed coin ; one newspaper published a proposal for an annular gold dollar , that is , with a hole in the middle to increase its small diameter . In January 1849 , McKay introduced a bill for a gold dollar , which was referred to his committee . This renewed calls for a gold dollar , as well as for a higher denomination than the eagle ( $ 10 piece ) , then the largest gold coin . Nevertheless , Gobrecht 's successor as chief engraver , James B. Longacre , prepared patterns , including some with a square hole in the middle . |
Connecticut Representative John A. Rockwell , a Whig , tried to table the bill , but his motion was defeated . McKay did not respond substantively , but stated that if no one wanted these denominations , they would not be called for at the Mint , and would not be coined . The bill passed easily , and met only minimal opposition in the Senate , becoming law on March 3 , 1849 . Another Whig , Massachusetts 's Charles Hudson , related that Patterson had sent a real and a counterfeit gold dollar to his committee and the majority of members had been unable to tell the difference . Pennsylvania Representative Joseph Ingersoll , a Whig , spoke against the bill , noting that Patterson opposed the new denominations , and that the idea had been repeatedly turned down , whenever considered . McKay introduced a version into the House on February 20 ; debate began the same day . McKay got his fellow Democrat , New Hampshire Senator Charles Atherton , to introduce the bill to authorize the gold dollar and the double eagle in the Senate on February 1 , 1849 — Atherton was chairman of the Senate Finance Committee . The dollar was attacked by congressmen from the Whig Party , then in the minority , on the grounds that it would be too small , would be counterfeited and in bad light might be mistakenly spent as a half dime , the coins being similar in size . The point was , he indicated , that the double eagle and gold dollar were wanted by the public , and , in the case of the gold dollar could help money circulate in small communities where banknotes were not accepted . McKay made no answer to these claims , but others did , including New York Congressman Henry Nicoll , who assured the House that the counterfeiting allegations were greatly exaggerated . |
= = Preparation = = |
The outsider in their midst was Chief Engraver James B. Longacre , successor to Gobrecht ( who had died in 1844 ) . The officers at the Philadelphia Mint , including Chief Coiner Franklin Peale , were mostly the friends and relations of Director Patterson . A former copper @-@ plate engraver , Longacre had been appointed through the political influence of South Carolina Senator John C. Calhoun . |
When Longacre began work on the two new coins in early 1849 , he had no one to assist him . The Mint Director agreed , and after viewing a model of the head on the obverse , authorized Longacre to proceed with preparation of dies . Accordingly , when the gold coin bill became law , Longacre apprised Patterson that he was ready to begin work on the gold dollar . Longacre wrote the following year that he had been warned by a Mint employee that one of the officers ( undoubtedly Peale ) planned to undermine the chief engraver 's position by having the work of preparing designs and dies done outside Mint premises . According to Longacre , |
The engraving was unusually minute and required very close and incessant labor for several weeks . I made the original dies and hubs for making the working dies twice over , to secure their perfect adaptation to the coining machinery . I had a wish to execute this work single handed , that I might thus silently reply to those who had questioned my ability for the work . The result , I believe , was satisfactory . |