The announcement of the awards COTY (Coin Of The Year) is done during the World Money Fair in Berlin (Germany). There are 10 categories with 10 competitors each. After the 10 coins winners chosen per category is voted the "best coin in the world." The COTY 2012 was elected the silver coin 2 "New Sheqalim" minted by Bank of Israel, entitled "Jonah in the whale". A list of the 2012 winners by category: http://www.numisbrazilis.blogspot.com.br/2013/02/coty-i.html
You've got a beautiful website, Numisbrazilis. Bravo! Lots of great designs there. But that Israeli coin? Sorry, but I don't like it - it's cartoon-ish and silly.
That coins artwork looks like it came out of a children's book I would read to my 4 year old. I don't understand how it would be considered a candidate for an award like that.
I happen to own that Israeli coin and think the design is very artistic and the underlying message is very profound. Just remember: "De gustibus non est disputandum." By the way, there are quite a few coin enthusiasts who think coins corroded to look like Rainbow Brite are silly and cartoonish also.
The design of that Jonah coin from Israel I like. Keep in mind, though, that this was one of last year's winners. This year's overall winner of Krause's COTY Award was the Dutch Muntgebouw piece, see here. Christian
I hear you friend, but I'd say to be mindful of anything that looks recycled off the cutting room floor and marketed with the thinly veiled description of "art". The OPs coin looks like an arcade token to me but if you like it then have at it. Of coarse someone out there will like obscure music, paintings, auto designs, etc. As long as one is thinking for themselves, then I support anyone's right to like what they want and chase what they desire. I was mainly commenting on the coins ability to pull an award. This particulary weak Israeli coin at a German coin show? Looks like a political statement to me.
It is a US publishing house that picks the winners in the various categories. Then some overall winner is determined, the "Coin of the Year". The World Money Fair is simply the biggest coin show on this planet. That is why Krause does the award ceremony there. Christian
I don't think its 'art, you either get it or your don't' as much as what one views as valid artistically is relative. Some people see art (in all its traditional forms) as being a skill and a craft you must practice and perfect, to become a master. Others may not expect such mastery of skill and craft and instead accept (or even prefer) drop cloths, geometric shapes, or numbers...or some other concept that does not require the artist to learn much or develop a skill or spend any time. All concept, no craft. I tend to think a coin like this winning some kind of coin design competition shows how far modern coin design has sunk but then again I also am pretty disgusted with what passes for art these days as well.
Yes, but one man's art is another man's rubbish. Here are the reasons I don't like that design. I grew up in the Catholic Church during the era of Vatican II, and I remember churches all over the country throwing out the elaborate Italian statuary and replacing it with folk art banners that looked exactly like that coin. It became de rigeur to trash any and all art that exhibited some actual skill on the part of the artist and replace it with the mediocre cut-and-paste jobs of talentless folk artists, all in the name of modernity. Out went Mozart and Bach, and in came Sister Dufus, her repertoire consisting of three chords and a "vision". What is that coin supposed to represent, anyway? Is Jonah crying out to God in the depths of his deepest despair, his longest night of darkness? Isn't Jonah's prayer from the belly of the fish the ultimate and most poignant cry for humanity's reconciliation with the Divine? De profundis clamavi ad te, Domine! Should such a theme be rendered in a style that looks like Spongebob Squarepants?
I agree it looks like a political statement. But there is one detail that distinguishes this coin from others. The inscription "Jonah was in the belly of the fish," Jonah 2:1, in three languages (Hebrew, Arabic and English). It is an honor and a reference to the biblical prophet Jonah. For me the most interesting is the Finland coin. NOTE: This coin for Israel was minted in Finland. http://www.israelmint.com/?section=559&product=3957&lineItem=2498
