Scientists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory have identified the world’s largest single crystal gold nugget, worth an estimated $1.5M (for its rarity rather than its 217.78-gram weight). Los Alamos reports: Revealing the inner structure of a crystal without destroying the sample — imperative, as this one is worth an…

On April 13, 2014, readers of the Sunday New York Times Book Review were treated to a cover theme under an adaptation of the reverse of the Great Seal of the United States — the Eye of Providence over a pyramid — with the pyramid, in this version, made up…

by Wendy Packer and Ralph Benko America has a mission statement. It’s right thee in our charter document, the Declaration of Independence. That amazing document expresses the too-rarely expressed creed happiness. We are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable Rights among which are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of…

Some claim it to be a spider. Others claim it is an artifact of the engraving. It has given rise to considerable speculation as to whether it might be a sign of a secret group called “the Illuminati or other esoteric society.” Only the long-ago engraver who produced the design for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing knows. And if he knew, he took the secret to the grave. This writer likes the idea of owl…

by Wendy Packer and Ralph Benko America has a mission statement. It’s in The Declaration of Independence. That precious document is in part of credo of the counter-Puritan America. We are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable Rights among which are “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” Science…

GreatSeal.com (not affiliated with the U.S. government) provides an excellent summary history of the formulation of the reverse of the Great Seal of the United States. The Great Seal is, of course, depicted, front and back, on the back of every dollar bill. The eye in the triangle at the…

James Narron and David Skeie, two of the most erudite monetary officials of our era, write at the NY Fed’s Liberty Street Economics about the currency crisis of 1779. Some choice excerpts: Crisis Chronicles: Not Worth a Continental — The Currency Crisis of 1779 and Today’s European Debt Crisis During…

by Wendy Packer and Ralph Benko Having pondered Cabinets of Curiosities and natural history museums let’s consider that famed showman P.T. Barnum. Barnum trafficked in displays that piqued the public’s curiosity, and “the gift of enjoyment.” Per ConnecticutHistory.org: P. T. (Phineas Taylor) Barnum of Bridgeport, Connecticut, was one of the…

James Narron and David Skeie, two meticulously scholarly monetary officials of the Federal Reserve System, published valuable lessons from history at the NY Fed’s Liberty Street Economics. This time, about the first Wall Street panic. From Liberty Street Economics by Narron and Skeie: From Political to Financial Revolution Although the…