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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Gedon_Althor, post: 1428095, member: 36602&quot;]The year is 1788.&nbsp; Five year after the end of the American Revolution if you use the Treaty of Paris as the point where Britain recognized the independence of the United States.&nbsp; The previous summer was the onset of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia where Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey ratified the new Constitution in December of 1787;&nbsp; but it wasn’t until 1788 that the States of Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts (see coin) Maryland, South Carolina,&nbsp; New Hampshire, Virginia and New York ratified the U.S. Constitution.</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; </p><p>&nbsp; Benjamin Franklin was Governor of Pennsylvania and John Hancock was the Governor of Massachusetts.&nbsp; The newly constructed States were still operating under the Articles of Confederation.&nbsp; As such, the State’s didn’t have a President.&nbsp; It wasn’t until the last 2 states ratified the Constitution in 1789 and then in April of 1789 when Washington was unanimously elected to the post.</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; </p><p>&nbsp; Other noteworthy events which occurred in 1788 include: </p><p>&nbsp; Edward Gibbon completed Volumes 4-6 of his “The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”.&nbsp; Meanwhile in Germany, Immanuel Kant completed his second critique called “Practical Reason” which helped set him a place as a serious author of modern Philosophy.&nbsp; Major inventions were limited to William Symington successfully demonstrating his paddle steamer in Scotland.</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; </p><p>[ATTACH]174284.vB[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp; The coin shown above from my collection.&nbsp; It is a Commonwealth of Massachusetts 1788 Cent (no period after Mass) The majority of the Mass dies were made by Joseph Callender under the direction of Joshua Witherle. (*1)&nbsp; The dies were handmade and as such, several die varieties exist.&nbsp; These coins, minted only from 1787-1788, were the first American coins to bear the denomination of “Cent” as seen in the shield held by the eagle in the center of the reverse.</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>I hope you enjoyed my brief history of 1788&nbsp; :hail:</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; </p><p>&nbsp; 1: Witmann guide book of US coins 57[SUP]th[/SUP] ed.&nbsp; R.S. Yeoman[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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