COINS, CURRENCY AND OTHER HISTORY EVENTS
14 Oct 1947	Congressional gold medal recipient Chuck Yeager breaks sound barrier in Bell X-1 rocket.
18 Oct 1867	The American flag flew for the first time in Alaska, marking the formal transfer of this massive northern territory from Russia to the United States.
31 Oct 1687	Capt Joseph Wadsworth saves Connecticut's royal charter from British by concealing it in the majestic white oak tree depicted on Connecticut's quarter dollar.
5 Nov 1960	Country and rockabilly artist Johnny Horton, whose number one hit "Battle of New Orleans" topped the pop charts for six solid weeks in 1959, was killed in an auto accident in Milano, Texas. Ironically, he had just played his last show at the Skyliner in Austin, Texas, where, in 1953, country legend Hank Williams also played his last show.
7 Nov 1805	Capt William Clark records sighting Pacific Ocean for first time, memorialized on "Ocean in View" Jefferson 5-cent coins two centuries later.
18 Nov 1776	Continental Congress creates lottery to draw in Continental Currency and fund military expenses.
5 Dec 1944	German army robs the Netherlands' Utrecht Mint of silver coins and bullion.
7 Dec 1941	At around 1:30 p.m., President Franklin Roosevelt is conferring with advisor Harry Hopkins in his study when Navy Secretary Frank Knox bursts in and announces that Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor. The attack killed more than 2,400 naval and military personnel.
18 Dec 1898	Count Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat set the world's first official land-speed record in Acheres Park near Paris: 39.245mph in his Jeantaud automobile, powered by an electric motor and alkaline batteries