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 Replies: 13 / Views: 1,798 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2403 Posts |
I was asked today why all busts on modern US coins face left except for Lincoln. Until the redesign on the Jefferson nickels this was the case. I could not answer this question. Does anyone know the reason? Is it just designer preference? Thanks...Mont. |
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
12477 Posts |
In Memory of Crazyb0 12-26-1951 to 7-27-2020
In Memory of Tootallious 3-31-1964 to 4-15-2020
In Memory of T-BOP 10-12-1949 to 1-19-2024
Edited by spru
04/03/2017 02:08 am
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
2517 Posts |
I've read before about a bias to draw the left side of a face more often than the right.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12477 Posts |
Concerning the right- or left-handedness that the article explores: I'm right-handed and I believe have always drawn portraits left-facing. However, my wife is left-handed (in writing only) and orients the paper or her body to write essentially from top to bottom. I don't know how she would draw a portrait but, while my sheet of paper is in portrait mode, hers is in landscape mode and we produce the same writing results.  In Memory of Crazyb0 12-26-1951 to 7-27-2020
In Memory of Tootallious 3-31-1964 to 4-15-2020
In Memory of T-BOP 10-12-1949 to 1-19-2024
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
2403 Posts |
Very interesting article Spruett thanks for posting it.
I was asked this by a teenager today...he even pulled out all denominations up to a quarter to show me.I'll have to let him know next week when I see him again.
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Moderator
 United States
14463 Posts |
Sacagawea is kind of facing right, and the Presidential dollars (and Spouse coins) are a mixture. I think I read somewhere that a painting of Lincoln was copied for the cent portrait, and the painting was right facing. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12477 Posts |
Concerning the Presidential dollars and Jefferson nickels (from the article): Quote:The adoption of computer-generated sculpting, however, has permitted artists to create reasonably satisfying portraits that face the viewer either straight on or, more often, at a slight angle. Examples include the series of President dollars and the Jefferson nickels made since 2006. Computers permit the reproduction of an on-screen design in any desired relief, a tool simply not available to earlier generations of coin designers. Personal sidenote: I absolutely hate the 2006-present image of Jefferson on nickels.  In Memory of Crazyb0 12-26-1951 to 7-27-2020
In Memory of Tootallious 3-31-1964 to 4-15-2020
In Memory of T-BOP 10-12-1949 to 1-19-2024
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Moderator
United States
14463 Posts |
Personal sidenote: I don't like the portrait on the Kennedy Dollar coin. I think it/he looks sad.  |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
Quote:
Computers permit the reproduction of an on-screen design in any desired relief, a tool simply not available to earlier generations of coin designers. That's true, before that they had to depend on talent/skill. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Made me kind of flip through a Red Book. Noticed some people face left, some right. |
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Rest in Peace
10197 Posts |
When considering ALL coins, certain Kings and Emporers liked/preferred one side or the other. Can't remember exactly who, but recall one emporer having an extreme distaste for one of his, always addressed his peons facing that way, if they saw his other side, was last thing seen before the blade!
"Vanity, vanity, all is vanity!". as the saying goes, I'm still me either side and just as ugly!
Edited by Crazyb0
04/03/2017 11:45 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
613 Posts |
I don't think there's ever been any conscious plan either way for which side for portraits to face; they just come out how the individual artist's created them. It'd be nice to align them all either left, right, or facing forwards so our assembled coinage has some rhyme and reason to it collective appearance. You could argue facing left is looking back to honor our history, while looking right is facing the promise of the future. I also like forward facing like Jeff and Sac, as they are engaging the holding of the coin by making eye contact, as it were.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4588 Posts |
in the UK they flip the orientation Queen Victoria faced left King Edward VII faced right King George V faced left Patterns for King Edward VIII faced left http://www.royalmintmuseum.org.uk/c.../index.html) (supposedly he preferred one side of his face) King George VI faced left Queen Elizabeth II faces right -----Burton 50+ year / Life / Emeritus ANA member (joined 12/1/1973) Life member: Numismatics International, CONECA Member: TNA, FtWCC, NETCC, EveryCountry (online) coin club Owned by three cats and a wife of 40+ years (joined 1983) Author: 3rd Edition of the Sample Slabs book, https://www.sampleslabs.info/ |
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Moderator
Australia
16808 Posts |
In America, it is purely the choice of the artist, though if a country gets into the habit of making the portraits all face the same way, it can be difficult to change. The ancient Roman emperors started out facing either way, but right-facing was slightly more common; the convention gradually became adopted that they faced right, so by AD 100, virtually all coins had right-facing portraits; a left-facing middle-period or late-period Roman coin "looks wrong", both to us and, presumably, to the ancient Romans themselves. Especially if you consider that a poorly-made counterfeit is often reverse imaged so faces "the opposite way", having all the portraits face the same way can be an anti-counterfeiting measure.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Replies: 13 / Views: 1,798 |
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Posted 04/03/2017 02:06 am
