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Regional airports , such as Edinburgh Airport , have experienced strong growth in CAT operations in recent years . 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 . GA aircraft are being subject to significant increases in charges , including the imposition of handling fees in some cases . Some airports restrict or deny GA parking , and others limit or refuse certain GA activity . As a result , light GA aircraft are now rarely or never seen at large , busy international airports such as Heathrow , Stansted , Gatwick and Manchester .
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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. and Bristol Filton Airport . 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 . "
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= = = Planning system = = =
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The planning system is critical to the viability and operation of GA aerodromes . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 . Such restrictions , if poorly conceived , can make GA operations unviable or even unsafe .
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= = Criticism = =
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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 . In terms of environmental complaints and enquiries made to the CAA that relate specifically to GA , noise is " by far " the most common subject . 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 .
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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 . " 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 .
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= SMS Zrínyi =
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SMS Zrínyi ( " His Majesty 's ship Zrínyi " ) was a Radetzky @-@ class pre @-@ dreadnought battleship ( Schlachtschiff ) of the Austro @-@ Hungarian Navy ( K.u.K. 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 .
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During World War I , Zrínyi saw action in the Adriatic Sea . 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 . Nonetheless , the presence of the Zrínyi and other battleships tied down a substantial force of Allied ships .
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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 . 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 . In the Treaty of Saint @-@ Germain @-@ en @-@ Laye , the transfer was not recognized ; instead , Zrínyi was given to Italy and broken up for scrap .
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= = Design and construction = =
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Zrínyi was built at the Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino dockyard in Trieste , the same place where her sister ships were built earlier . She was laid down on 15 November 1908 and launched from the slipway on 12 April 1910 . The teak used on Zrínyi 's deck was the only material Austria @-@ Hungary had to purchase abroad to build the ship . The ship was completed by 15 July 1911 , and on 22 November 1911 she was commissioned into the fleet . She was the last ship of the class to be completed and had a crew of 880 to 890 officers and men .
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Zrínyi was 138 @.@ 8 m ( 455 ft 4 in ) long , and had a beam of 24 @.@ 6 m ( 80 ft 8 in ) and a draft of 8 @.@ 1 m ( 26 ft 9 in ) . 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 . She was powered by two @-@ shaft four @-@ cylinder vertical triple expansion engines rated at 19 @,@ 800 indicated horsepower . The ship had a top speed of 20 @.@ 5 knots ( 38 @.@ 0 km / h ; 23 @.@ 6 mph ) . Zrínyi was the first warship in the Austro @-@ Hungarian Navy to use fuel oil to supplement her 12 Yarrow @-@ type coal @-@ fired boilers . 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 ) .
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The ship 's primary armament consisted of four 30 @.@ 5 cm ( 12 in ) 45 @-@ caliber guns in two twin gun turrets . This was augmented by a heavy secondary battery of eight 24 cm ( 9 @.@ 4 in ) guns in four wing turrets . The tertiary battery consisted of twenty 10 cm L / 50 guns in casemated single mounts , four 47 mm ( 1 @.@ 85 in ) L / 44 and one 47 mm L / 33 quick @-@ firing guns . Furthermore , the ship 's boats were equipped with two 66 mm ( 2 @.@ 6 in ) landing guns for operations shore . Three 45 cm ( 17 @.@ 7 in ) torpedo tubes were also carried , one on each broadside and one in the stern .
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= = Service history = =
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The ship was assigned to the Austro @-@ Hungarian Fleet 's 1st Battle Squadron after her 1911 commissioning . 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 .
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In 1913 , Zrínyi participated in an international naval demonstration in the Ionian Sea to protest the Balkan Wars . 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 . The most important action of the combined flotilla , which was under the command of British Admiral Cecil Burney , was to blockade the Montenegrin coast . 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 . Pressured by the international blockade , Serbia withdrew its army from Scutari , which was subsequently occupied by a joint Allied ground force .
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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 .
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= = = World War I = = =
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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 . 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 . 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 Austro @-@ Hungarian ships were then recalled before seeing action .
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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 . Their focus was on the important naval base at Ancona , and later the coast of Montenegro . 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 . The attack on Ancona was an immense success , and the ships were unopposed during the operation . 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 . On the shore , the infrastructure of the port of Ancona , as well as the surrounding towns , were severely damaged . The railroad yard in Ancona , as well as the port facilities in the town , were damaged or destroyed . The local shore batteries were also suppressed . During the bombardment , Zrínyi also helped to destroy a train , a railway station , and a bridge at Senigallia . Additional targets that were damaged or destroyed included wharves , warehouses , oil tanks , radio stations , and the local barracks . Sixty @-@ three Italians , both civilians and military personnel , were killed in the bombardment . By the time Italian ships from Taranto and Brindisi arrived on the scene , the Austro @-@ Hungarians were safely back in Pola .
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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 .
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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 . 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 . This resulted in the Allied blockade of the Otranto Strait . 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 .
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= = = Post @-@ war fate = = =
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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 . However , the victorious Allies refused to acknowledge the conversations between the Austrians and the south Slavs and , in due course , reallocated the ships . 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 . 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 ) . 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 . 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 . Simultaneously she was commissioned as USS Zrínyi and Lieutenant E.E. Hazlett , USN , assumed command . The initial American complement consisted of four officers and 174 enlisted men — the latter entirely composed of United States Navy Reserve Force personnel . The ship remained at anchor at Spalato for nearly a year while the negotiations that would determine her ultimate fate dragged on . Only once did she apparently turn her engines over , and that occurred during a severe gale that struck Spalato on 9 February 1920 .
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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 . Under the terms of the treaties of Versailles and St. Germain , Zrínyi was ultimately turned over to the Italian government at Venice . She was broken up for scrap later that year and into 1921 .
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= Geopyxis carbonaria =
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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 . The small , goblet @-@ shaped fruitbodies of the fungus are reddish @-@ brown with a whitish fringe and measure up to 2 cm ( 0 @.@ 8 in ) across . They have a short , tapered stalk . 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 . It is found in Europe , Turkey , and North America . 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 .
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= = Taxonomy = =
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The fungus was first described scientifically in 1805 by Johannes Baptista von Albertini and Lewis David de Schweinitz as Peziza carbonaria . Mordecai Cubitt Cooke illustrated the fruitbodies , spores , and asci in his 1879 work Mycographia , seu Icones fungorum . Figures of fungi from all parts of the world . In 1889 , Pier Andrea Saccardo transferred the fungus to the genus Geopyxis , giving the species its current name . Pustularia carbonaria , published by Heinrich Rehm in 1884 , is a synonym of G. carbonaria . Louis @-@ Joseph Grélet proposed the variety Geopyxis carbonaria var. sessilis in 1937 , referring to forms producing fruitbodies without a stalk , but the taxon is not considered to have independent taxonomic significance . 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 ) . This taxon was synonymized with G. carbonaria by Mien Rifai in 1968 , a taxonomic opinion corroborated by Donald Pfister about a decade later .
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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 " .
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= = Description = =
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The fruitbodies ( ascocarps ) of Geopyxis carbonaris are cup shaped , 1 – 2 cm wide , and have fringed whitish margins . 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 ) . The stipe is small ( 1 – 1 @.@ 5 mm long and 1 – 2 mm wide ) , whitish in color , and expands abruptly into the cup . The brownish flesh of the fungus is thin and brittle . It does not have any distinctive taste , but has an unpleasant smell when crushed in water . The edibility of the fungus is not known , but the fruitbodies are insubstantial and unlikely to be harvested for eating .
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= = = Microscopic characteristics = = =
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In mass , the spores are whitish . The spores are elliptical , smooth , hyaline , devoid of oil droplets ( eguttulate ) , and have dimensions of 13 – 18 by 7 – 9 µm . They are thin walled and germinate and grow rapidly in vitro in the absence of external stimuli . 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 . The hypothecium , the layer of cells below the hymenium , is made of densely packed , small irregular cells .
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= = = Similar species = = =
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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 . It may be distinguished microscopically by its paraphyses , which lack the orange @-@ brown granules characteristic of G. carbonaria . 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 . Tarzetta cupularis , which grows habitats similar to G. carbonaria , is distinguished microscopically by its spores that contain two oil droplets . Other genera with similar species with which G. carbonaria may be confused in the field include Aleuria , Caloscypha , Melastiza , and Sowerbyella .
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= = Habitat and distribution = =
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Geopyxis carbonaria is widespread on burned soil or charcoal in the spring and throughout the growing season . It is one of the most common pioneer species found on burned ground . 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 . 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 . Geopyxis carbonaria fruitbodies are often found in the same post @-@ fire stands as morels , although the former is usually more abundant . Because the pixie cup fruits earlier than morels , it may serve as an indicator of imminent morel fruiting . Other cup fungi often found fruiting in the same area as G. carbonaria include those from the genera Aleuria , Anthracobia , Peziza , and Tarzetta .
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The fungus is found in Europe ( from where it was originally described ) , and is widespread throughout North America . The North American distribution extends north to Alaska . In 2010 , it was reported for the first time from Turkey .
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= = Ecology = =
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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 ) . 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 . These traits suggest that the fungus is a moderate pathogen , with limited ability to cause reductions in seed germination . Additionally , the fungus produces the enzyme polyphenol oxidase , and can break down the complex organic polymer lignin — features characteristic of saprotrophic fungi . 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 . 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 " .
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Large fruitings of the fungus are often associated with damage to the host tree , such as that which occurs with burning . 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 .
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= Gold dollar =
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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 coin had three types over its lifetime , all designed by Mint Chief Engraver James B. Longacre . The Type 1 issue had the smallest diameter of any United States coin ever minted .
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A gold dollar had been proposed several times in the 1830s and 1840s , but was not initially adopted . 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 early years , silver coins were being hoarded or exported , and the gold dollar found a ready place in commerce . 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 .
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Gold did not again circulate in most of the nation until 1879 ; once it did , the gold dollar did not regain its place . In its final years , it was struck in small numbers , causing speculation by hoarders . 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 .
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= = Background = =
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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 . Congress followed Hamilton 's recommendation only in part , authorizing a silver dollar , but no coin of that denomination in gold .
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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 .
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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 . He was opposed by the Mint Director , Robert M. Patterson . Woodbury persuaded President Andrew Jackson to have pattern coins struck . 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 . 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 .
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Consideration was given to including the gold dollar as an authorized denomination in the revisionary legislation that became the Mint Act of 1837 . 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 . " Nevertheless , after Mint Director Patterson appeared before a congressional committee , the provision authorizing the gold dollar was deleted from the bill .
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= = Inception = =
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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 . 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 .
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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 . This renewed calls for a gold dollar , as well as for a higher denomination than the eagle ( $ 10 piece ) , then the largest gold coin . In January 1849 , McKay introduced a bill for a gold dollar , which was referred to his committee . 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 . 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 . Nevertheless , Gobrecht 's successor as chief engraver , James B. Longacre , prepared patterns , including some with a square hole in the middle .
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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 . McKay introduced a version into the House on February 20 ; debate began the same day . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 . Connecticut Representative John A. Rockwell , a Whig , tried to table the bill , but his motion was defeated . The bill passed easily , and met only minimal opposition in the Senate , becoming law on March 3 , 1849 .
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= = Preparation = =
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The officers at the Philadelphia Mint , including Chief Coiner Franklin Peale , were mostly the friends and relations of Director Patterson . The outsider in their midst was Chief Engraver James B. Longacre , successor to Gobrecht ( who had died in 1844 ) . A former copper @-@ plate engraver , Longacre had been appointed through the political influence of South Carolina Senator John C. Calhoun .
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When Longacre began work on the two new coins in early 1849 , he had no one to assist him . 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 . Accordingly , when the gold coin bill became law , Longacre apprised Patterson that he was ready to begin work on the gold dollar . The Mint Director agreed , and after viewing a model of the head on the obverse , authorized Longacre to proceed with preparation of dies . According to Longacre ,
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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 .
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