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commodity market
commodity market organized traders' exchange in which standardized, graded products are bought and sold. Worldwide, there are 48 major commodity exchanges that trade over 96 commodities, ranging from wheat and cotton to silver and oil. Most trading is done in futures contracts, that is, agreements ...
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schnauzer
schnauzer , a sturdy, wirehaired dog developed in S Germany. There are three separate breeds of schnauzer distinguished by their size. The standard schnauzer is a medium-sized dog whose existence in Germany dates back to the 15th cent. It stands from 17 to 20 in. (43.1-50.8 cm) high at the shoulder ...
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lusterware
lusterware kind of pottery with an overglaze finish containing copper and silver or other materials that give the effect of iridescence. The process may have been invented and was certainly first popularized by Islamic potters of the 9th cent. The most beautiful and brilliantly colored ware—p...
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National Institute of Standards and Technology
National Institute of Standards and Technology governmental agency within the U.S. Dept. of Commerce with the mission of "working with industry to develop and apply technology, measurements, and standards" in the national interest. It was established by act of Congress on Mar. 3, 1901; until 19...
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coin
coin piece of metal, usually a disk of gold, silver, nickel, bronze, copper, aluminum, or a combination of such metals, stamped by authority of a government as a guarantee of its real or exchange value and used as money . Coinage was probably invented independently in Lydia or in the Aegean Island...
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Bland-Allison Act
Bland-Allison Act 1878, passed by the U.S. Congress to provide for freer coinage of silver. The original bill offered by Representative Richard P. Bland incorporated the demands of the Western radicals for free and unlimited coinage of silver. This was passed by the House but was unacceptable to th...
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cost of living
cost of living amount of money needed to buy the goods and services necessary to maintain a specified standard of living . The cost of living is closely tied to rates of inflation and deflation. In estimating such costs, food, clothing, rent, fuel, lighting, and furnishings as well as expenses f...
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standard of living
standard of living level of consumption that an individual, group, or nation has achieved. The evaluation of a standard of living is relative, depending upon the judgment of the observer as to what constitutes a high or a low scale. A relative index to the standard of living of a certain economic g...
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free silver
free silver in U.S. history, term designating the political movement for the unlimited coinage of silver.
Origins of the Movement
Free silver became a popular issue soon after the Panic of 1873, and it was a major issue in the next quarter century. The hard times of 1873-78 stimulated adv...
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iridium
iridium , metallic chemical element; symbol Ir; at. no. 77; at. wt. 192.22; m.p. about 2,410°C; b.p. about 4,130°C; sp. gr. 22.55 at 20°C; valence +3 or +4. Iridium is a very hard, usually brittle, extremely corrosion-resistant silver-white metal with a face-centered cubic crystalline st...
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