A 1702 Commemoration of a Scientific Demonstration

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On May 8, 1654, Emperor Ferdinand III and the Imperial Diet in Regensburg watched in amazement as 30 horses, in two teams of 15, with all their might couldn’t separate an orb that with the turn of a hand fell apart before their very eyes. This was a demonstration of the power of atmospheric pressure caused by a vacuum.

In 1702 two different thalers were issued commemorating the demonstration of the Magdeburg hemispheres. The coins issued by the German State of the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel feature on one side two horses pulling the hemispheres unbroken under lightning with a unicorn in the background. The other side of the coin depicts a hand turning the valve that stabilizes air pressure causing the two hemispheres to separate.

Full article: https://www.pcgs.com/news/rcmr-paris-1702-commemoration-scientific-demonstration

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