Artistic quality of recent coin designs criticized

Here's an article through Krause publications commenting on the artistic quality of recent commemorative coins and the next phase of quarters;

http://www.numismaster.com/ta/numis/Article.jsp?ad=article&ArticleId=11204

Here's the core of the article, and I totally agree with this:

"... The coins and medals should distill the subject to its essence, Luebke wrote, “rather than present a confusing collage of multiple elements.”

Marks said the designs are more storyboard than allegorical and fail to use symbolism, which has always been a major device in portraying ideas in medallic art.

Take, for example, the Saint-Gaudens $20 gold piece, Marks said. Meant to depict a young nation that is strong, he used symbolism rather than multiple images of people doing tasks..."

I do hope that the artistic vision of US coins is rekindled. We've had such great coins in our history. I hope we can do it again.

We've had some successes recently, however. I thought the commemorative Jefferson nickels worked well. I also think the Sacagewea dollar is a beautiful coin. I'd like to see Liberty return to our coins.

Just my thoughts.

Steve

 

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Thanks Steve. I've read that article earlier and read another on recent design reviews of future commems that didn't pass muster: 'CCAC Critical of Medal of Honor, Army designs' in Coin World Magazine 6/14/2010, page 1]

I'd love to see the bureaucracy, red-tape, PC design aesthetic and subject matter cut, as well as give the boot to special interest groups getting legislation passed for commemoratives.

Bring Miss Liberty back and employ less literally conservative designers and less rigid crafts people in the creation of coin designs. Creative and expressive Artists need to be involved and given the freedom to create unique designs instead of being shackled to the whims of committees informing the content of a design.

 

Too True

Years ago I recall an old saw about~

"Do you know what an elephant is?~It's a mouse designed by a committee."

 

Nice one Dok! :smile

 

And you don't even want to know how the Ornithorhynchus anatinus came into being.:goofer:

 

I remember the first time I say a 1916 quarter or the draped bust quarter. First thought was, wow that would never fly today. Not that I want our coins to show more cleavage, but something with a little more symbolic imagery would be nice. The buffalo nickel is a great example for me. Now all we have are dead presidents and memorials.

 

I totally agree with this.

The new Presidential Dollar coins are pretty sad ...
they look more like subway tokens to me (especially the reverse)

Hard to believe this is a legal tender $1 coin

 

Ironically the MTA metrocard vending machines in NYC take and dispense these dollar coins. However, the MTA with NYC and NJ Transit and Mastercard (the credit card company) have just began a new pilot program called Tap & Go that is testing a key-fab type pass which would make obsolete the current Metrocard system and further remove transactions with coins from mass transit in the area.

 

On the other hand, according to the article the CCAC is complaining that they don't get listened to half the time and they aren't seeing good enough things coming in.

Question for people who've been around a while: are new coin designs, even the ones that later get recognized as classics, ever appreciated in their own time?

 

I've always thought that the symbolic representation of Liberty on our coins is the best direction that our currency could go in.

At the moment we have junk. We have modern junk, with dead people on our coins. We worship people who have helped shaped this country, even though they may be controversial. We completely forget about the ideas of which this country was founded.

The nicest coins this country has ever seen, were when we had Lady Liberty on our coins. Sure, I like me a Jefferson Nickel or a Washington Quarter, but I'd prefer the design of a Standing Liberty or a Bustie 10 times out of 10.

The 2010 cent could've been such a beautiful coin, but what do they do? They select a crappy little shield to put on the coin that might look okay in hand, but compare it to the wheat cent, and I choose that wheatie every time!

The new Sac's vs. the old Sac's. Old Sac's please.

Presidential Dollars-Garbage...Garbage....Garbage. Ugly, garbage with high mintages.

The State Quarter program is the only series of coins, that are modern, that I really really like. Most of the things made today are just drowning the hobby.

Hopefully, one of these years, we'll get a Liberty Commemorative, instead of honoring somebody, like we do all the time. Last time was 2008, with the Bald Eagle. That was the most beautiful Commemorative we've had in quite some time.

It'll never happen though, our circulating currency will have dead guys for the rest of its life, until our country completely rids of physical currency.

 

Harshness Abounds

Sadly, T$ has presented the future.

As have others.

Ugly but viable coinage is our future until it gets replaced with plastic.

Slugs shoved into slots providing us with services and assess will change.

And soon, getting change to play with will be no more.:vanish:

I would not be surprised to learn implants placed at birth will replace current stuff. Must be why they call it "BlueTooth" now so our grandkids can think it is normal.

 

I have complained about dead presidents on our coins more than once. I'm not a big fan of the shield 1c I just thought they could have done more. I think it is time to get the dead presidents off our coins. Ice

 

I remember reading somewhere that the Morgan dollar was considered quite ugly when it's design was released, and honestly I agree. On the other hand, I can't imagine anyone complaining about the $20 Saint-Gaudens, that coin is a classic.

I agree about the wheat cent back, the imagery and the simplicity of the font make that one of my favorites as well. The shield penny is not even in the same league.

 

Compared to the Susie B., the Sac dollar was a classic, and then they had to go and mess with the reverse.

I'm tired of dead Presidents, too, and I wish they would go back to the allegorical themes of the 19th Century. The only problem is that all of the highly acclaimed medallists and sculptors are dead, too!

Chris

 

They should just go back to these old classic designs ...
I think they would be hard to improve on

 

i agree with you CPM ... the Sac is an underrated coin ... one of the better modern designs (esp the previous reverse) ... This is 100x better than the Presidential Dollar coins.

 

phubanks...
Amen brotha

 

When they changed to the Native American reverse and then used that crappy edge lettering, I quit collecting them. Right now, I'm working on a short set of the P&D Business Strikes of the original design in MS68. I only have 5 so far, but four of them were from my submissions, and one in MS68PL was from a trade.

I still have 6 more 2007P Business Strikes in MS68, so if you know anyone who wants to trade...............

Chris

 

As a general rule, no they were not appreciated in their own time. Contemporary commentary on the new designs whenever they have come out has usually panned the new coins.

 

That is a good point.
I believe it was Roosevelt who hated Barber's design of coinage and wanted St. Gaudens to redo them, although, I liked Barber's coinage, beats the heck out of what we have today.