A. DESPITE B. OWING TO C. ALTHOUGH D. HOWEVERREAD THE FOLLOWING PA...

30. A. Despite

B. Owing to

C. Although

D. However

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate

the correct answer to each of the questions from 31 to 35

Stars have been significant features in the design of many United States coins and their number has

varied from one to forty-eight stars. Most of the coins issued from about 1799 to the early years of the

twentieth century

bore

thirteen stars representing the thirteen original colonies.

Curiously enough, the first American silver coins, issued in 1794, had fifteen stars because by that

time Vermont and Kentucky had joined the Union. At that time it was apparently the intention of mint

officials to add a star for each new state. Following the admission of Tennessee in 1796, for example,

some varieties of half dimes, dimes, and half-dollars were produced with sixteen stars.

As more states were admitted to the Union, however, it quickly became apparent that this scheme

would not prove practical and the coins from 1798 on were issued with only thirteen stars-one for each

of the original colonies. Due to an error at the mint, one variety of the 1828 half cent was issued with

only twelve stars. There is also a variety of the large cent with only 12 stars, but this is the result of a

die break and is not a true error.