Saturday Trivia...already?

[WoodenJefferson]

What prominent figure's inception of a solid gold coin, 40' in diameter x 30" thickness with an eagle that would have had a 29' wing span, never got off the ground?

 

Yes, 40 feet in diameter~

Yes, 30 inches thick~

Yes, the eagle would have had a wind span of 29 feet~

 

Name, who

when (need not be specific)

where was this coin to be displayed?

 

I will think of a prize latter.

 

Have fun.

 

Prize: adjustable money ring

[IGWT]

Just a WAG:

 

[zrlevin]

I have no idea. Here is my guess:

 

1. John D. Rockefeller

2. 1920s

3. The Smithsonian

 

 

I have a feeling that that eagle was never destined to get off the ground! The thing would have weighed 622.35 tons!

[rexcat]

Gee, I would of thought every one would know this...

 

 

Name, who - Farran Zerbe

 

when (need not be specific) - 1904 World's Fair The Louisiana Purchase Exposition

 

where was this coin to be displayed? - St. Louis, Missouri

 

 

 

 

 

Acually,

 

 

Me neither, looked it up..

[WoodenJefferson]

~Ding...ding...ding~

 

We have a winner! rexcat!

 

Article in Stacks

 

If anything, Farran Zerbe planned things on a grand scale, his most improbable venture being this, as described in the Pittsburgh Times, March 11, 1903, in an account noting that he was on his way to St. Louis to gain a favorable hearing for a plan to be presented to the directors of the forthcoming Louisiana Purchase Exposition. He proposed a coin, which, if made, would have eclipsed anything thought of before or since:

 

“It consists principally in having a $1,000,000,000 gold piece, constructed on the lines of a $20 gold piece, [but] 40 feet in diameter and about 30 inches thick. The eagle’s wings on it would stand 29 feet. Who was to manufacture this immense amount of gold into one coin is not stated, but it presumably would be the United States government if the plan is carried out.”

 

Instructions on how to assemble your prize