One of the panels that reviews and approves the designs of the national park coins has voted on 3 of the 5 coins for 2013. As a native Marylander I had high hopes for the Fort McHenry coin. I am not impressed by any of the four designs and think they do not represent that magnitude of the historical significance of Fort McHenry. I wish they had a design that showed kind of a side on view that depicted both the fort (so that you could see it's signature architecture, the iconic flag, and some cannons) and the Patapsco River with some British ships @ anchor. You can go to Coin World's website and find the article or here's the links about the designs for 2013: http://www.coinworld.com/articles/http-www-coinworld-com-buy-coins-categories-b/ http://news.coinupdate.com/america-the-beautiful-quarters-design-candidates-reviewed-by-cfa-1046/
It's totally subjective. Doesn't matter what is selected, someone will always dislike something about a given design or message on a new coin. Coin collectors have demonstrated in these forums time and again that they are fast to judge brand new coin designs as lacking, inferior or poor in quality and unrepresentative of their subject matter. Most have an opinion but very few offer designs to rival what is chosen for them, and only after choices have been made offer complaints and judgements instead.
I just put a letter in the mail box to the coin committee to voice my opinion. And yes Krispy, it is an opinion and I don't give a PMD what you think about it. Dear Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, As a native Marylander, coin enthusiast, and passionate lover of history, I respectfully urge your committee to seek additional submissions for the 2013 America the Beautiful Quarter Design for Fort McHenry. The magnitude of the historical importance and the events that took place at Fort McHenry during the War of 1812 is poorly represented by all four of the current candidate designs. The significance of the Battle of Baltimore at Fort McHenry is immense. It was September of 1814, and the epic struggle for our nation’s freedom had already been raging for two years. A fleet of British ships had sailed up the Chesapeake Bay after assaulting Washington D.C. via the Potomac River to the south. The defenses of Fort McHenry were strategically positioned on the Patapsco River such that no enemy ships could pass into the harbor of Baltimore without first passing by the fort. Five miles before the fort, at North Point, thousands of British troops invaded by land in attempt to march pass the fort to attack Baltimore- one of the nation’s most important port cities at the time. American militiamen repulsed the invading British attack and killed one of their top generals in the process. It was this same general, Robert Ross, whom just three weeks prior had ordered the burning of the White House and Capitol building on the night of August 24, 1814. The fire was so great it could actually be seen from Baltimore. After the failed land invasion the British resorted to a naval attack on the fort. For over 24 straight hours the British naval assault rained a firestorm of ordinance upon the fort. Of course, it was in the early morning hours after a long night of bombardment that prominent Maryland citizen, Francis Scott Key, penned The Star-Spangled Banner. Unable to penetrate into the Baltimore harbor, the British left in a major defeat. In closing, I would l like to suggest that your committee implore the artists responsible for rendering designs to create more candidate designs. I believe that the best way to immortalize this site on the National Park Quarter series is a side-on view that depicts both the fort (so that you could see the signature architecture, the iconic flag, and some cannons) and the Patapsco River with some British ships at anchor. Utilizing historical paintings and lithographs, such a design could magnificently capture the historical significance of Fort McHenry. Please make this historic coin, historically beautiful. Sincerely, -
I love it! Typical defensive attitudes over ones opinions splashed in a forum for the purpose of venting. Blunt as my comments may sound, there is/was plenty of time and avenues available to do something sooner. Whatever... It's a very nice letter you put together, though at this stage, too little too late. I would however, suggest you also copy your State's Senators and local Representatives on this letter urging them to follow these issues that matter to you and how your state is being represented. Ask them to carry your message to the appropirate offices in Washington as it clearly concerns you greatly.
Could I execute a better example for inclusion in the decision making process. Probably not. But, I can suggest something which would make those artists that can do this much better at what they do, and thats simply visit the site you are trying to depict. It's impossible to look at a picture of the Grand Canyon, or Yosemite, or Fort McHenry and engrave a design with any depth or feeling whatsoever. This isn't a slight towards the artists. It's towards their employers who feel the public is satisfied enough with clipart and cartoon renderings of the places this country takes pride in. Send the artists outside the Mint building once in a while and let them experience the wonders they are entrusted to re-create on metal. Let them be artists, not copiers, for once. Guy
How do we know the initial artists concepts didn't come from at least some onsite field study? Many of these designs are interpretive not realistic, and cartoonish from renderings that are passed through successive stages of designers to technicians converting 2D illustrations into nearly flat 3D works of coin design, after much filtering through (rather crude) rendering software. The designs are done by committee in the end with far too many hands and suggestions involved. The artists rendering do not necessarily posses medalic craft skills no more than do the technicians understand illustration techniques. The AIP is a great concept but it doesn't eliminate all these problems on the production end of modern US coin minting.
I agree, Krispy. Thus my statement about letting artists be artists. A committee decision, no matter their intentions, will never be as artistically appealing as the raw idea at the beginning of the process. Why have artists on staff in the first place if their work and vision is squeezed through the ringers of mediocracy? Guy
