dcarr

Greetings Everybody,

As you may know, the Denver Mint recently observed their 100th Anniversary with a relatively-short ceremony.

Why they didn't see fit to issue a commemorative coin or medal for this milestone is unknown. Over a year ago I wrote to Congress, the US Mint, and Coin World suggesting that legislation be passed authorizing Denver Mint centennial coins. And while the San Francisco Mint will see a commemorative coin this year (regarding the 1906 earthquake), no action was taken on my proposal and no one in the public or government supported it.

I have no direct connection to the Denver Mint, other than that I am a Denver native, I was born not far from the Denver Mint, and I've visited there several times.

So, a couple months ago I drove down to the Mint (on a quiet Sunday) and took several pictures of the building's exterior. The security guards kept a close eye on me (from a distance) as I stuck my camera through the fence to take pictures.

Since the Denver Mint wasn't issuing anything for their centennial, I decided that I would !

I took those pictures and used them to design (and mint) a centennial token.

And here it is in brass:

and silver:

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Daniel Carr's coin designs

OldDan

Thanks for posting the pictures of the Denver Mint token.

Now for the real important question if you don't mind.

Where in the world would a person be able to purchace on of these magnificent pieces?

Thank you in advance Daniel for the information... this one I've got to have, even if I have to drive to Colorado to claim it.

__________________
Experience is something you don't get,
until just after you need it.

DavidRay

Very nice work!

Old Dan, take a look at his website as linked at the bottom of his posting. He's got his stuff available there.

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David Ray
Cumming, Georgia, USA

dcarr

Thanks for pointing that out - it was a typo on the "list" price.

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Daniel Carr's coin designs

Burks

That's some amazing work you did. I'll have to think about getting one. Are they about the silver of a US silver dollar?

dcarr

Thanks ! They are 39mm - standard "silver round" size. A US silver dollar is 38mm.

The silver version is one troy ounce (999).

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Daniel Carr's coin designs

OldDan

Just saved my self a tank of gasoline. Daniel will be sending me one of each by the next pony express rider coming up this way. I can hardly wait to get my hands on these guys.

__________________
Experience is something you don't get,
until just after you need it.

tcore

Daniel, I think your designs are really great! The Denver Mint commemmorative is very nice looking. I also like a lot of your other designs that you have on your website. Some of your state quarter designs are much better than the ones that actually got used.

So, how do you mint the medals? Do you have some kind of a coin press or are they engraved? Also, what kind of packaging do your medals come in when ordered from your site? e.g. plastic bag, air-tite type case, etc.

Keep up the good work!

dcarr

Thanks,

I design and sculpt them digitally. Basically the same as sculpting in clay (like the Mint does it), except that I use "digital" clay. Then I use a computer-controlled milling/engraving machine to cut 8-inch diameter 3D models. The models are used on a reduction lathe to make the dies using a direct mechanical transfer (no freehand engraving involved). I do not do this step, but at some point I will probably migrate to cutting dies directly on my machine skipping the 8" model part. I do not yet have a press, so I have a private mint with a coin press stamp them out.

Most of the coins I sell come in non-PVC flips with a small certificate insert. But the Denver Mint Centennial tokens come in capsules.

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Daniel Carr's coin designs

kiyardo

I've ordered the 2001 Astronaut dollars and they are beautifully struck and really bring out the designs. I love all of the designs except Bessie Coleman's face looks a bit "washed out".

dcarr

Her facial features are very soft and rounded - and it came through that way in the sculpture.
The early die state strikes have rather thick frosting which tends to hide the facial contours. The later strikes, after some of the frost has faded, have more reflectivity and show the facial features a bit better.
The difference between the two is somewhat hard to capture in a photo. But here are two to compare:

Early die state:


Middle die state:


If you'd like to return it for a refund or exchange for a different die state, I would be happy to do that.

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Daniel Carr's coin designs

Old Silver

All we have to do is wait. The Denver mint will come out with their 100th anniv. coin in about 10 years or so.

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A closed mouth gathers no foot!

kiyardo

Yeah, I can see the difference. I actually didn't order the Bessie Dollars, just the Astronaut. I noticed the soft features in your renderings as well. So, apparently, it was on purpose. I thought maybe it was an issue with the software.



She does have soft features. She was a total babe too!! heheh

Nice work Mr. Carr. Your designs are awesome.

dcarr

The software simply does whatever I tell it to do. It is a sculpting tool. So however I sculpt it is the way it will turn out.

I've improved my techniques since I sculpted the Bessie Coleman dollar. I originally sculpted it back in 1998 for a presentation at the Dollar Coin Design Advisory Committee meeting:

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Daniel Carr's coin designs

OldDan

Just wanted to report my receiving the two Denver Mint commemmorative coins in the mail. While the pictures are good, they don't hole a candle to actually having one in your hand. What a sight! Great design and fine detail. Probably the best I've seen on any coin produced within the last 50 or 60 years, at least.

I can't say enough good words to describe this coin fully, and hope all of you have the opportunity to see one of them in your collecting experiences. It will be placed with the rest of the families collection as the location where it all got started, over a hundred years ago. What beautyful coins! Wow!
Cant wait until the next design Daniel comes up with. It will be worth watching for in the future.
Thanks Daniel

__________________
Experience is something you don't get,
until just after you need it.