Peter (eagle)

Peter the eagle

Peter was a bald eagle who lived at the Philadelphia Mint from c. 1830 until 1836. He became well known after a while and was let out of the Mint each night to fly around the city of Philadelphia. While perched on a coining press one day, the press suddenly started, and Peter's wing was badly injured. Shortly after all attempts to save and heal him, he died, in his beloved mint.^[1] His stuffed body is now on display at the mint.^[2]

Peter is said to have been the model for the image of an eagle on the silver dollars issued from 1836 to 1839.^[3]

References

1. Johnston, Elizabeth Bryant (2009). A Visit to the Cabinet of the United States Mint, at Philadelphia. BiblioBazaar. p. 19. ISBN 978-1-110-27550-2.
2. Marion, John Francis (1974). Bicentennial city: walking tours of historic Philadelphia. Pyne Press. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-87861-066-2.
3. Maestro, Betsy (1993). The story of money. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 46. ISBN 978-0-395-56242-0.