Researchers tested 49 medieval coins, finding the older ones were minted from silver Byzantine goods and the newer ones were made of silver mined in western France. (The Fitzwilliam Museum / University of Cambridge)

Medieval English Coins Were Made With Melted Byzantine Silver

Researchers have solved the mystery of the silver coin boom that took place around 660 C.E.

Sonja Anderson

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Tiny and Rare, a Blind Mole That 'Swims' Through Desert Sand Is Spotted in Australia

The Real Story Behind Apple TV+'s 'Franklin'

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Possible Royal Graves Dated to the Time of King Arthur Found in Great Britain

Why Are Some People Left-Handed? Scientists Identify Rare Genetic Variants That May Be Linked to the Trait

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See a Restored Ancient Roman Helmet—and Two Shiny New Replicas

This Is What Being in Your Twenties Was Like in 18th-Century London

Ask Smithsonian: When Did People Start Keeping Pets?

SMITHSONIAN VOICES

How the Smithsonian Conserved the Jefferson Bible

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Physicist Peter Higgs, Who Prompted a Decades-Long Search for a Tiny Particle, Dies at 94

One of the World's Oldest Surviving Books Is for Sale

On this day 55 years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the 1968 Civil Rights Act. This bill, also known as the Fair Housing Act, expanded on the 1964 Civil Rights Act and prohibited housing discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, sex, handicap or family status.

Read more about Johnson's relationship with the civil rights movement.

Stanislawa, Szarotka Flowers, Chicago (Avondale) - 2022

© Jonathan Castillo