Reverse of a double florin

The double florin, or four-shilling piece, was produced by the Royal Mint between 1887 and 1890, and was one of the shortest-lived of all denominations of British coinage. Its obverse, designed by Joseph Boehm and engraved by Leonard Charles Wyon, depicts Queen Victoria, whilst the reverse (pictured), featuring national symbols of the United Kingdom, was designed by Wyon based on the coinage of Charles II. When issued in June 1887, the Jubilee coinage, of which the double florin was a part, provoked an outcry. The small royal crown Boehm had depicted on Victoria's head provoked widespread mockery. The double florin was criticised as it was similar in size to the crown, worth five shillings, which led to confusion. The issue was said to be particularly acute in public houses, where barmaids accepted it believing it to be a crown, giving it the nickname "Barmaid's Ruin". The coin was no longer minted after 1890, though it remained in circulation for many years, and is still legal tender for 20 pence (£0.20). (Full article...)

Ron Miles

• ... that Ron Miles (pictured), who would have turned 59 today, played in the same high school jazz band as Don Cheadle?
• ... that during the attack on the Delhi chief minister's residence, protesters painted the gate red and tried to scale it while police officers watched?
• ... that Francis Orray Ticknor was a country doctor whose fame as a poet relies on "Little Giffen", a poem about one of his patients who died in the American Civil War?
• ... that the 1653 hymn "Du, o schönes Weltgebäude", about renouncing the world, contains the stanza "Komm, O Tod, du Schlafes Bruder", which Bach used to conclude his cross-staff cantata?
• ... that Satyagraha Hoerip wrote a short story set during the Indonesian mass killings of 1965–66 from the perspective of the killers-to-be?
• ... that the NBA Comeback Player of the Year Award was canceled, reportedly because of drugs?
• ... that a call to prayer is a common feature to Christianity, Islam and Judaism?
• ... that topics on Recess Therapy have included the economy, climate change, and peeing your pants?

Michelle O'Neill

• In horse racing, Rich Strike wins the Kentucky Derby.
• Sinn Féin, led by Michelle O'Neill (pictured), win the most seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly election.
• Ronnie O'Sullivan wins the World Snooker Championship, defeating Judd Trump in the final.
• Dritan Abazović is elected as the new Prime Minister of Montenegro by the Parliament.

May 9: Europe Day in the European Union; Victory Day in various Eastern European countries (1945); Liberation Day in the Channel Islands (1945)

Battle of Heligoland

• 328 – Athanasius took office as Patriarch of Alexandria.
• 1864 – Second Schleswig War: The Battle of Heligoland (depicted), the last naval engagement fought by squadrons of wooden ships, took place between the Danish and Austro-Prussian fleets.
• 1918 – First World War: Germany repelled Britain's second attempt to blockade the Belgian port of Ostend.
• 1992 – An underground methane explosion occurred at the Westray Mine in Plymouth, Nova Scotia, killing all 26 Canadian coal miners who were working at the time.
• 2012 – The pilots of a Sukhoi Superjet, ignoring alerts from the terrain warning system, crashed the aircraft into Mount Salak in Indonesia, resulting in the deaths of all 45 people on board.