I'd be curious, who designed the first series of the 1991 Peruvian Nuevo Sol/Centimos series? Thank you for your help! Tom
Well, sir, welcome to MY rabbit hole! I've disappeared down the rabbit hole of trying answer such questions for world coins before, and it took me on a 10-year odyssey. I found the answers (mostly) for what I was looking for in the case of ONE country (South Korea), but only by searching for the answers in the language of the country where the coins were made. Try finding out the Spanish words for "coin designer" and the name of this coin. By doing this, I found this: https://www.facebook.com/medallasdelperu/posts/d41d8cd9/1543169885846978/ ...and (after running it through google translate): "Peruvian Numismatics: 1 Nuevo Sol coin from 1991. Due to the impressive devaluation of the beginning due to hyperinflation, it was necessary to replace it with a new monetary unit to facilitate commercial transactions. On December 31, 1990, Law No. 25295 was enacted, through which the new monetary unit was created: the Nuevo Sol, with an equivalent of One million intis for each new sol. Regarding the design of the 1 Nuevo Sol coin, a contest was held among the carvers of the National Mint, in which Mr. Félix Díaz Paredes was the winner. Pieces were minted with the initial of his name and his surname: F. DIAZ, under the branch on the reverse. However, the Central Reserve Bank of Peru ordered to withdraw these coins shortly after their issuance, which is why most of these coins are not signed. Likewise, between 1991 and 1993, the letters FDP corresponding to the initials of the engraver's name appear in the branches on the reverse. The coins have a diameter of 25.5 millimeters, a weight of 7.32 grams and the nickel silver alloy. Below, you can see the 1 Nuevo Sol coin from 1991 with the initials F. DIAZ, as well as a coin from the same year with error, off-center, and with the initials FDP on the reverse."
Following my own advice, I did just this for contemporary Japanese circulation coins. I don't think that I've found the names of the designers, but I did find this: https://www.mint.go.jp/kids/know/know_01 No designer names here, right, @gxseries ? The Japan Mint's public relations dept. is pretty good about fielding questions from nosy foreign guys like me. They may not always have the answer, but sometimes they do! And they actually get back to you in a timely fashion. They've helped me quite a bit in my own research on Korean coins.
Thank you so much. I did search in Spanish, but apparently not at the right place. I appreciate your help.
Ok, I think I have done an exceptionally poor job researching this coin. In the comment section. Numista does mention the F.Diaz signature, and though the designer is not listed specifically, it is a good hint. Sorry for the sloppy work, but I'm glad I learned something new today.
Well, you could have done worse things, right? Anyway, the whole name is better than an initial and last name. Yeah, you have to do several searches to get things right.