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 Replies: 17 / Views: 17,577 |
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Pillar of the Community
Hong Kong
1270 Posts |
Hello, after buying and receiving this US 1798 draped bust dollar, an immediate question appeared into mind that why didn't the style of the stars on the coin not look like with the stars on the US flag?  I tried to make a small research and really found the US flag designer Francis Hokinson used six-pointed stars on his first flag. From Hokinson's flag and the early US dollars, all showed the six-pointed stars, is it reasonably to believe that the stars on the US flag should also be 6-pointed stars instead of 5-pointed. But it seems no official 6-pointed stars flag seen in reality. I also find that the 6-pointed stars on the US coins were substituted by the 5-pointed from 1920s. Can anyone tell the reason behind for such a change in the coin design? Henry |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7840 Posts |
Budget cuts. Seriously I did some browsing myself and found this; "George Washington's original pencil sketch for the flag indicated 6-pointed stars, a form he apparently preferred.
Betsy Ross, however, recommended a 5-pointed star. When the committee protested that it was too difficult to make, she took a piece of paper, folded it deftly, and with a single snip of her scissors, produced a symmetrical five-pointed star. This seeming feat of magic so impressed her audience that they readily agreed to her suggestion."http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/flagstar.htmlEdited by oih82w8
08/09/2013 09:36 am
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
3167 Posts |
 That is too cool! Neat piece of info! Nice dollar wonghinghi!  |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
I don't know why the change from six pointed stars to five points but it can be laid at the feet of Charles Barber. Up until the Barber quarter and half all US coins had six pointed stars (if you ignore the 1794 starred rev cent and the $4 stella). The Barber quarter and half had six pointed stars on the obv and five pointed stars on the rev. After that almost without exception all US coins have used five pointed stars. (exceptions are Saint-Gaudens gold, 2006 S mint comm dollar, and bald eagle dollar. And those last two use old pre-1892 designs.) |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3253 Posts |
Just to confuse things further, Francis Hopkinson also designed the $40 note of the Continental Currency in 1778. The emblem shows an all-seeing eye radiating down on an altar surrounded by 13 stars. As you can see, these stars are eight-pointed!  And, I agree, a very nice B-6 BB-96 dollar! Edited by philadelphian
08/09/2013 10:54 am
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Moderator
 United States
187862 Posts |
Maybe it comes down to what is (was) more practical. Five pointed stars are easier to make for flags, while six pointed stars were easier to engrave for coins. Later, modern engravers perfected or learned how to make a symmetrical five pointed star for coins.   |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7840 Posts |
The six pointed stars on the Seated coinage were an agglomeration of six diamonds...at least that is what it looks like to me.  Edited by oih82w8
08/09/2013 11:09 am
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Valued Member
United States
206 Posts |
Very interesting question wonghinghi! I had never give much thought to that, but thanks for bringing it up. I look forward to seeing some of the responses here.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1080 Posts |
My dad always tells that Betsy Ross story and as a kid he would show me how to fold paper to make the one-cut star. Always figured it was just one of dad's tall tales.
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Pillar of the Community
 Hong Kong
1270 Posts |
oih82w8:Thank you for your information but... Was the story of Betsy Ross real? How many American believe it is true? From Wikpedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betsy_rossThere is, however, no archival evidence that the story is true.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
2362 Posts |
Quote:
Was the story of Betsy Ross real? I hope the Betsy Ross story is real because it's such a great story. I can't remember where I read this and can't claim it to be true, but my recollection of choosing the 5 point star was because the Star of David is a 6 point star and the new country was trying to not be associated with any specific religion. Member ANA and EAC "You got to lose to know how to win". Dream On by Aerosmith |
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Pillar of the Community
Hong Kong
1270 Posts |
Quote:
Star of David is a 6 point Thank you, new idea for me. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4415 Posts |
I recall wondering about this topic many years ago; the use five vs. six-pointed stars. The Star of David, use of a Jewish star got me then thinking. Also, I wondered if there might have been resistance to a star that was too similar to a pentagram.
A thought-provoking thread, this ...
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3253 Posts |
Wikipedia has a good write up on the heraldic "mullet" (star), including the long standing rule that the number of points was heraldically unimportant, and could be rendered with five, six, or however many: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_(heraldry) |
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Pillar of the Community
Russian Federation
5172 Posts |
One rather obscure fun numismatic fact...
Brazilian coins of the 1890s featured the Southern Cross constellation. Five stars (well more, technically, but the coins only had five).
And all five stars had different numbers of rays/points (corresponding to size[1] - largest had eight, next largest seven, and so on to the smallest with four).
[1] which in turn corresponded to the relevant star's brightness
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
2805 Posts |
But in astronomy, magnitude is a reverse logarithmic scale!
6 is the limit of human vision, 3 is lacklustre, 0 is easily visible, and -27 is the sun.
You'd have a hard time exactly adapting this scale to the number of points on a star... so those Brazilian coins might not be as exact as I'd hope...
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Replies: 17 / Views: 17,577 |
Posted 08/09/2013 09:45 am
