MORSE CODE CHANGES

On a non-numismatic topic, Ray Williams writes:

Excellent question! I recall learning that the distress call "SOS" in Morse code is ... --- ... (dot dot dot dash dash dash dot dot dot). On the Chubbuck pieces "S" is "dot dot dot" but "O" is not three dashes - it's two dots. An internet search revealed that what I learned was the International Morse Code. Chubbuck shows what is known today as American Morse Code. Here’s an excerpt from Wikipedia. -Editor

Morse code has been in use for more than 160 years—longer than any other electrical coding system. What is called Morse code today is actually somewhat different from what was originally developed by Vail and Morse. The Modern International Morse code, or continental code, was created by Friedrich Clemens Gerke in 1848 and initially used for telegraphy between Hamburg and Cuxhaven in Germany. Gerke changed nearly half of the alphabet and all of the numerals resulting substantially in the modern form of the code.

After some minor changes, International Morse Code was standardized at the International Telegraphy Congress in 1865 in Paris, and was later made the standard by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Morse's original code specification, largely limited to use in the United States and Canada, became known as American Morse code or railroad code. American Morse code is now seldom used except in historical re-enactments.

To read the complete article, see: Morse code (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morse_code)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: MORE ON S. W. CHUBBUCK (/www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v16n21toc.html)

Wayne Homren, Editor

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