Quisquilia: Lib. nov.

Curious about how long coins are in circulation, and without any scientific basis whatsoever, I choose 1989, the year the Berlin Wall came down and somewhat shook the world’s fabric, changing the course of history (finalising it?), ending the Cold War between two competing ideologies and their clash on geopolitical objectives, as a point of reference for my investigation, 22 years later.

The sample chosen for this enterprise, shaken well, adequately and preemptively, with some goodwill constitutes an aleatoric element and does in no way adhere to the minimum requirements of a sample size, as I freely choose, at my sole discretion, the contents of my wallet as sufficent. There will also not be any paper published on these findings.

Quarters: 2.75 USD
1967, 1967, 1977, 1986, | 1989, | 1994, 1994, 1996, 2000*, 2002*, 2004*
* are part of the U.S. Mint’s 50 State Quarters Program and represent Virginia, Indiana, and Michigan, respectively.
36.4 % of the quarters examined were manufactured before 1989.

Dimes: 1.60 USD
1972, 1975, 1981, 1987, || 1990, 1995, 1997, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2002, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2005, 2009
Out of 16 dimes, a mere 25 % were coined before the fall of the Eastern Bloc.

Nickels: 0.20 USD
1982, || 1999, 2000, 2003
Again, only 25 % witnessed the crumbling of the Communist regimes, 3 out of 4 nickels are love children of the post-bipolar era and its affair with deregulation in a globalised US dollar hegemony.

Pennies: 0.18 USD
1971, 1975, 1976, 1976, 1984, 1987, || 1992, 1994, 1995, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2003,
2010, 2011, 2011, 2011, 2011
One third, or 33.3 %, of all pennies in the sample preceded George H. W. Bush as the 41st President of the United States of America.

One noticeable observation are the clusters existent in all the different denominations of coins. This is most apparent with the 2011 pennies, a result of the huge production of coins with the new Union Shield reverse design, and in the 2002 dimes.

Across all coin values, 15 out of 49 coins prove to be in circulation for more than 22 years, i.e. 30.6 % of the sample. With the exception of two pennies, one from 1987, the other from 2003, both exhibiting considerable harm due to verdigris following from prolongued exposure to moist and weathering, all coins show, if at all, just ordinary signs of age and daily use.

An interesting aspect to factor into these deliberations, would be the criteria of the U.S. Mint for the withdrawal of coins, or legal tender in general, from circulation, and how high the turnover and lifespan is of U.S. denoted coinage, i.e. which number of worn coins is pulled out of circulation each year and replaced. This may also depend on the material composition of each respective line of coins, as some prove more prone to damage and patina than others.

On a personal note, I’d like to point out, that something like 12.2 % of the coins in this sample still are older than me. Time, however, is running up. Pecunia fugit…

(i.a) Given my extensive consumption and ingestion of ß-carotene in form of baby-cut carrots (the finger food alternative to junk), I am probably in acute and imminent danger of carotenoderma.

(i.b) At least I don’t eat infants!

(ii.a) Addendum to V (i): W 82nd St, 1 am, on my way back from Music After, Rattus norvegicus enters the stage, scurrying up the stairs from a basement to my right, jaywalking the pedestrian path in front of me, then slipping under some perennials covering a tree pit, bowing out of sight.

(ii.b) NYC’s RIP: Is here the wish father to the thought? Are we channeling Freud?

(iii) Waking up to drum rolls and Amazing Grace played on the bagpipe, as a last farewell: „The sun forbear to shine“.

FDNY 9/11 - Tiles for America

(iv.a) A horrible slogan, based on fear-mongering: „Drive sober, or get pulled over.“ – Wouldn’t an appeal to reason do more good? Or a positive campaign, setting an example?

(iv.b) A terrible slogan, mismatching decency with disease, thus diminishing it as pathological: „If you see an elderly, pregnant, or handicapped person near you, please offer your seat. You’ll be standing up for what’s right. Courtesy is contagious, and it begins with you.“ – Just not as a medical condition, I’d hope, lest I be patient zero instead of merely polite.

(v.a) I have such a craving for chocolate. Let it not be Hershey’s!

(v.b) Never a more delicious, or superior taste as evidenced by this address line: Made by Cadbury UK Limited, PO Box 7008, Bournville, Birmingham, B30 2PT, UK. Found at Fairway’s!

(i) Let me introduce you to New York’s fauna and its habitats: Mus musculus (a fugitive rodent at Westside Cleaners), Columba livia domestica (frequently observed on my window sills and the a/c), and the utterly abominable Scutigera coleoptrata, which ranks high among the most creepy extraterrestials ever.

(ii) An embarrassingly long-sought solution to a standard mathematical problem: t[h] = ((speed.A [km/h] + speed.B[km/h]) / distance [km])^-1. (See here if you wish to inquire what that means.)

(iii) How come all the jams I enjoy here in the States, are of Italian origin? First Fiordifrutta: Organic fruit spread: Raspberry, produced by Rigoni di Asiago Spa, Star-K kosher-certified, and now Pomegranate Raspberry: Organic Preserves by Mediterranean Organic, extra fruit, artisan crafted, „grown under the Mediterranean sun, […] picked at the peak of ripeness and processed in small batches on a 4th generation Italian family farm“.

(iv) A Gourmet Deli? No doubt, I must be in West Village, bordering on Chelsea.

320 West 14th Street

(v) $800 for a dinner for two (omakase-style)? I’d rather go have cazuelas fajitas-style at hip Dos Caminos on the border to Meatpacking District, and then head over to Gaslight with its laidback, retro atmosphere.

(vi) I need my watch battery replaced. Looking for a dealer in the Manhattan yellow pages, I notice that 47 W St nr 5th Ave is the epicentre of New York’s watch-retail, -service and -repair – a.k.a. the Diamond District.

(vii) Spam: „The Jew Watch Project’s 1.5 Billion Pages Served Demonstrate Our Focus on Professionalism“. – What is wrong with you people?! About 1,500,000,000 skew reasons.

(viii) Do you also have a sense of epiphany with this Google Maps street view image?

Aran Islands or Arran Islands, (p. 58)
in Galway Bay, Co. Galway, Ireland. The three islands are Inishmore, Inisheer, and Inishmaan. They are barren, and living conditions are primitive.

toy dogs. (p. 1278)
Many small dogs have been developed from the larger breeds for the sole purpose of being pets. One of the smallest of these is the Chihuahua, which weighs from 1 to 6 lb. It has a round skull, wide-set eyes, and large, erect ears, and varies in color from white, through shades of tan, to black. […] Easily recognized by its flat nose and round, protruding eyes is the Pekingese (or Pekinese). Its coat is straight and silky and may be black, tan, fawn, brown, or white. […] One variety of poodle is a toy dog.

Heine, Heinrich, (p. 543)
1797-1856, German author, of Jewish parentage. His Buch der Lieder [book of songs] (1827) placed him among the greatest German poets. Lyrics have musical, folklike quality (as in „Lorelei“), often spiced with subtle irony or dissonant endings, have attracted many composers, notably Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Brahms. His prose travel sketches […] show the same mixture of lyric emotion and corrosive wit. [In Paris,] he died after eight years of tragic sickness, confined to his „mattress grave“. […] Nearly all his work has been translated to English, although his verse often defies translation.

ex:
The Columbia Viking Desk Encyclopedia (in 2 volumes),
The Viking Press / Columbia University Press: New York 1953

Osage orange, (p. 930)
deciduous spiny tree (Maclura pomifera) native to Ark. and Texas, useful as a hedge. It has inedible orangelike fruits. The flexible, durable wood was a favorite bow wood of the Osage indians.

Dostoyevsky, Feodor Mikhailovich, (p. 349)
1821-81, Russian novelist, one of the giants of modern literature. He won his first success with Poor Folk (1845). Arrested 1849 for membership in a Fourierist circle, he was sentenced to death; while he was waiting for death, his sentence was commuted to hard labor in Siberia. The shock of the experience and the hardship of Siberian life (described in The House of the Dead, 1862) aggravated his epilepsy and caused him to turn to religion. […] His chronic financial difficulties were increased by his passion for gambling. His novels are characterized by deep psychological insight; compassion for all men, even the vilest of whom he thought capable of redemption; and morbid preoccupation with guilt and crime. […]

Strasbourg, (p. 1220-1221)
Ger. Strassburg […], cap. of Bas-Rhin dept., E France, on the Ill near its junction with the Rhine; cultural and commercial cap. of Alsace. […] [S]eat of a university (founded 1538) and of the Council of Europe. Its importance dates from Roman times. Its bishops ruled a considerable territory as princes of the Holy Roman Empire, but Strasbourg itself became a free imperial city (13th cent.), ruled by its guild corporations. Here medieval German literature reached its flower in Gottfried von Strassburg, and here Gutenberg may have invented the printing press. […]

ex:
The Columbia Viking Desk Encyclopedia (in 2 volumes),
The Viking Press / Columbia University Press: New York 1953

New York, (p. 887)
city (area with water surface c. 365 sq. mi.; land only, 299; pop. 7,891,957), SE N.Y., largest city in U.S., on New York Bay at mouth of Hudson R. Comprised of five boroughs, each coextensive with a county: Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, Richmond (see Staten Island). The metropolitan area (1952 census, preliminary total pop. 12,831,914) includes industrial and residential parts of SE N.Y. and NE N.J. Many bridges and tunnels link the boroughs. With a magnificent natural harbor and over 500 mi. of water front, New York is largest port in the world. Extensive industries, chiefly consumer goods, are led by mfg. of clothing, textiles; printing and publishing; food and metal processing. Leading U.S. commercial (since 1840) and financial (stock exchange founded 1792) metropolis, it is a world center of banking (Bank of New York founded 1784 under Alexander Hamilton) and trade. With its vast array of cultural and educational resources, famous shops and restaurants, places of entertainment, striking architecture, colorful national neighborhoods, and its rich historic background, New York is almost unparalleled. Began with settlement (New Amsterdam) made by Dutch on Manhattan isl. in 1625. British seized control 1664. City divided in its loyalties, but Washington’s troops defended it until after battle of Long Island in Revolution. State cap. until 1797, first U.S. cap. under the Constitution (1789-90); Pres. Washington was inaugurated here. Until 1874, when portions of Westchester co. were annexed, city’s boundaries were confined to present-day Manhattan. Charter of 1898 set up five boroughs [NB: print text misspells „boroughts“] of Greater New York. Flatiron Bldg., first skyscraper, completed 1902; first subway, 1904. Many planning and administrative bodies (e.g., Port of New York Authority, 1921; Municipal Housing Authority, 1934) have been set up to cope with problems of the vast metropolis. Seat of permanent UN hq.

ex:
The Columbia Viking Desk Encyclopedia (in 2 volumes),
The Viking Press / Columbia University Press: New York 1953

Queens, (p. 1044)
borough (land area 108 sq. mi.; pop. 1,550,849) of New York city, SE N.Y., W end of Long Isl. adjoining Brooklyn borough. Separated from Manhattan and the Bronx by East R. (mainly bridges, e.g. Queensboro Bridge, built 1909, which stimulated borough’s greatest growth; and tunnel connections); on S is Jamaica Bay, separated from the Atlantic by Rockaway peninsula (c. 12 mi. long; resorts and commuters‘ communities). First settled by Dutch 1635; old Queens co. estab. 1683; divided 1898 into Queens and Nassau counties, when Queens also became a New York city borough (largest in area). Mainly residential as in communities of Flushing, with Flushing Meadows park (site of New York World’s Fair in 1939-40, later site of General Assembly meetings of the UN) and Queens Col. (see New York, College of the City of); and Forrest Hills (has West Side Tennis Club where national and international matches are held). Heavily industrialized in area of Long Island City (shipping facilities on East R.; rail yards; consumer commodities); also at Astoria and Jamaica (important railroad transfer point, with extensive business and residential sections). Has two municipal airports, both administered by Port of New York Authority – LaGuardia (558 acres; opened 1939) and New York Internatl. Airport (4,900 acres; opened 1948; sometimes called Idlewild). Here are Jamaica and Aqueduct race tracks.

ex:
The Columbia Viking Desk Encyclopedia (in 2 volumes),
The Viking Press / Columbia University Press: New York 1953

Brooklyn. (p. 171)
1 Village (pop. 2,568), SW Ill., on the Mississippi above East St. Louis. An all-Negro town. Post office is Lovejoy. 2 Borough (land area 71 sq. mi.; pop. 2,738,175), of New York city, SE N.Y., on SW end of Long Isl. adjoining Queens borough. Settled 1636-37 by Walloons and Hollanders; hamlet of Breuckelen estab. c. 1645; absorbed various settlements (e.g., Flatbush, a 17th-cent. Dutch village, now a residential section) until it became coextensive with Kings Co. (estab. 1683); became a New York city borough 1898. Separated from downtown Manhattan by East R. (many bridges, e.g., Brooklyn Bridge, and tunnels), from Staten Isl. by the Narrows of New York Bay. Though largely residential, borough has important port facilities – New York Naval Shipyard (commonly Brooklyn Navy Yard), Bush Terminal – and industrial establishments (machinery, textiles, paper, chemicals, shoes, processed foods). Seat of Brooklyn Col. (see New York, College of the City of); Pratt Institute; Long Isl. Univ. (nonsectarian; coed. [NB: print text misses period]; chartered 1926, opened 1927); St. John’s Univ. (R.C., Vincentian; partly coed.; opened 1870, chartered 1871); Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences; and Long Isl. Historical Society. Here are Prospect Park (see Long Island, Battle of); Ebbets Field (home of Brooklyn Dodgers); Coney Isl., farmed beach resort and amusement center; and many noted churches. 3 City (pop. 6,317), NE Ohio, a S suburb of Cleveland.

ex:
The Columbia Viking Desk Encyclopedia (in 2 volumes),
The Viking Press / Columbia University Press: New York 1953

Quarters: 1.25 USD
1967, 1978, 1992, 1994, 2000*
* is a Maryland State Quarter.

Dimes: 1.50 USD
1966, 1975, 1983, 1987, 1990, 1995, 1997, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2005, 2009

Nickels: 0.25 USD
1982, 1984, 1999, 2000, 2001

Pennies: 0.19 USD
1971, 1975, 1976, 1976, 1983, 1984, 1987*, 1992, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2003,
2010, 2011, 2011, 2011, 2011
* has tarnished quite severely unlike the other coins which, for the most part, show less signs of circulation.
From 2010 onwards, the Lincoln Cent features the slightly superheroish Union Shield as reverse design.

A few of them are quite vintage. Strangely, so far not one $1 coin has surfaced in my possession, neither the Sacagawea, the Native American nor the Presidential Golden Dollar. During my last visit to the States they showed up ever so often.

Manhattan. (p. 765)
1 City (pop. 19,056), NE Kansas […] 2 Borough (land area 22 sq. mi.; pop. 1,960,101) of New York city, SE N.Y., coextensive with New York co. Composed chiefly of Manhattan isl. (c. 12 mi. long and 2 mi. wide at greatest width), but also including islands in East R. and in New York Bay (Governors Island; Ellis Island; Bedloe’s Isl., with Statue of Liberty); bounded on W by Hudson R., NE and N by Harlem R. and Spuyten Duyvil Creek. Many bridges, tunnels, ferries link it to the other boroughs and to N.J. Dutch West India Company bought Manhattan from Manhattan Indians in 1626 for trinkets worth $24; first known as New Amsterdam, it became New York under the English 1664; its boundaries were those of New York city until 1874, when several Westchester co. communities were inc. into city; became a New York city borough 1898. Commercial, cultural, financial heart of the city, with extensive and diversified mfg., tremendous wholesale and retail trade, major distribution facilities (rail, ship, truck), banking and finance establishments. Here are Metropolitan Museum of Art, American Museum of Natural History, Museum of Modern Art; hq. of New York Public Library; numerous theaters (theatrical center of the country) and institutions of music, Columbia University, parts of College of the City of New York and of New York University, New School for Social Research, Juilliard School of Music, theological seminaries and medical schools, Cooper Union; Trinity Church (chartered 1697), Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, Riverside Church, Temple Emanu-El. Famous areas: Harlem, Greenwich Village, the Bowery; streets: Broadway, Fifth Avenue, Wall Street; parks: the Battery, Central Park, Fort Tryon Park (with the Cloisters). Some of the much-visited buildings are: Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, Jumel Mansion, and UN hq.

ex:
The Columbia Viking Desk Encyclopedia (in 2 volumes),
The Viking Press / Columbia University Press: New York 1953