I have seen a few nicer patterns going buy in the recent months... so I got the bug and had to stock a couple.
I dislike seeing patterns. Only because there is many that are really beautiful and it makes you wonder how they were never picked to begin with. I wish the mint would go back and use some on our coinage now. To this day I think we have some of the ugliest looking coins in circulation.
Cool patterns. Personally I am glad it never made it to circulation though. I find her head cocked back like that kind of awkward looking. Not saying anythin bad about the coin, though, I think its a tremendous piece. I wonder why they had such boring eagles in most of the 19th century? This one is better than the SL design, but not by much. They are almost as bad as that horrible eagle on the ASE.
A beautiful pattern . I imagine this one is in silver . I like the eagle and everything about the obverse except her head , as it looks a tad too big . Matt , who designed this piece ?
Its fasces with a axe handle. It was a symbol of authority in the Roman Republic. A lot of US coins have been modeled after the ROman Republic since we are also a republic after all.
Maybe we should start a separate thread in the Buy/Sell/Wish forum. I love the piece! Maybe someday I'll actually start collecting patterns -- they really seem to capture my imagination.
I have often wondered why the powers that be at the time when the Mint was exploring new designs why they almost always opted for less aesthetic designs. I suppose most of them just were not suitable for mass production or for petty egotistical reasons. At least we have some examples to enjoy the artistry that went into producing these patterns unlike the circulating coinage of today.