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 Replies: 15 / Views: 2,128 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2200 Posts |
Dissatisfaction over coin designs is nothing new. The following quote reflects opinions many of us have expressed here over the years about our current designs. The rub is that comes from an American magazine, The Galaxy, in 1876! It talks about the Liberty Seated design prevalent in that year.
"Why is it we have the ugliest money of all civilized nations? The design is poor, commonplace, tasteless, characterless, and the execution is like thereunto. They have rather the appearance of tokens or mean medals. One reason for this is that the design is so inartistic, and so insignificant. That young woman sitting on nothing in particular, wearing nothing to speak of, looking over her shoulder at nothing imaginable, and bearing in her left hand something that looks like a broomstick with a woolen nightcap on it—what is she doing there?"
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Rest in Peace
United States
1559 Posts |
Very interesting topic  and one that I would also like to hear everyone's thoughts and or opinions on!  |
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Rest in Peace
United States
17900 Posts |
Even if every execution were perfection personified there is still that population believing the fig leaf is a trifle small.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Our coins are not necessarily ugly, just very, very boring. And when the Mint does make something different, like those Quarters, they put them on the reverse. I'm still waiting for them to do with coins like they did with stamps. Imagine a Dime with Elvis or someone like that on the coin.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
992 Posts |
There are a lot of people on the planet who are not happy unless they have something to complain about.
Journalists, especially, make a living by whining and grousing about something, and no national coinage or currency has ever been designed by a whining journalist.
If you think our coins should be more like postage stamps, just consider that the modern practice of putting Elvis and puppies on stamps just about killed the hobby, and will do exactly the same for coins.
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Moderator
 United States
187446 Posts |
Quote:
There are a lot of people on the planet who are not happy unless they have something to complain about. This. They exist in every generation. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2023 Posts |
Part of me thinks that the guy who wrote that article had seen only well-worn Seated coinage. High grade pieces, especially larger issues, can be quite beautiful. But the smaller pieces that circulated a great deal, not so much. Plus, all of the silver coins for decades before that article (and for a good while afterwards) had the same obverse design. I can see his point, but yeah, always something to complain about. Fifty years later, I doubt the same article would be written -- all of the designs by that time (except the Lincoln Cent, IMO) are beautiful in their own way. Not too long after that though, and the circulating designs are dull and uninspired again, but at least they're all different. Now there I go having something to complain about. |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
2200 Posts |
Well, I've never heard anyone complain about the Buffalo nickel, Mercury dime, the SLQ or the WLH. In fact, they are praised to the hilt in terms of their beauty. Seems like in the early-to-mid 20th century, we were doing all right in terms of coin design satisfaction. |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
6514 Posts |
Being a new world coin collector I must say that there's coinage out there that is much less inspiring than anything the United States has ever minted. The assortment of Euros comes to mind as do others that are so uninspiring that they slip my mind at the moment.  Check out my counterstamped Lincoln Cent collection: http://goccf.com/t/303507 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
655 Posts |
That's a funny-sounding editorial for the period. Do you have a link to the text, jpsned? I don't see the point about the coinage being ugly but it is true that it seems a little odd in ways, such as the nightgown Ms. Liberty appears to be wearing and the nightcap on a broomstick.
As for today's money, I think its main focus should remain on being august, dignified and respectable. This includes our paper money. Don't forget there's no intrinsic value to this stuff since we went off the gold/silver standard. So, the only thing that makes this stuff any more valuable than scrap metal is people's faith in it (and in the country).
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3467 Posts |
Quote:I've never heard anyone complain about the Buffalo nickel, Mercury dime, the SLQ or the WLH. Try introducing any of those designs for circulating coins today if you want to hear complaints. Everyone of those would be offensive to one group or another. Rather than risking objectifying, demeaning or insulting a group our 'leaders' give us bland and boring. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
In general no coinage design has been considered attractive while it is in active circulation. I think it falls under "familiarity breeds contempt".
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Oddly enough our Mint doesn't try for beauty on coins or currency. Not their job. Yes to some small degree they do with those quarters, yet no attempt for something to hang on a wall for most coins. The intent is to have something to spend, not admire. If you weren't a coin collector, you probably wouldn't even know what is on most coins.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
Quote:
Oddly enough our Mint doesn't try for beauty on coins or currency. Not their job. if you go back to the 19th century you will find plenty of documents between the of the mint officials discussing design that changes in the designs in the attempt to make the coins more beautiful and attractive. Usually because they make the comment that the current coinage for some of the worst in the world. So they were trying to achieve beauty in the coinage. They don't today because for the most part our coins haven't changed for 60 or 70 years or more. Any changes done now are simply done to make the physical act of production easier. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4233 Posts |
I think the only comment I've ever gotten on this topic from people of other countries is that our money looks so "serious" (and I've gotten that comment many times).
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Moderator
Australia
16805 Posts |
Quote:
In general no coinage design has been considered attractive while it is in active circulation. I think it falls under "familiarity breeds contempt".  Complaining about the state of the coinage is not new, and was not new even in 1876. Here's a quote to ponder: Quote:
The course our city runs is the same towards men and money.
She has true and worthy sons.
She has fine new gold and ancient silver,
Coins untouched with alloys, gold or silver,
Each well minted, tested each and ringing clear.
Yet we never use them!
Others pass from hand to hand,
Sorry brass just struck last week and branded with a wretched brand.
So with men we know for upright, blameless lives and noble names,
These we spurn for men of brass...
Aristophanes, from the comedy "The Frogs", first performed in 405 BC Personally, while "classical" 19th century American coinage has it's design flaws, modern American money is less attractive than the stuff the author was complaining about. It's just too wordy. The name of the country written out in full, the denomination written out in full, plus not one but three mottoes. That's a lot of verbiage to cram onto a tiny little coin, leaving very little space for actual artwork. 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: 15 / Views: 2,128 |
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Posted 03/13/2018 2:00 pm
