| Author |
 Replies: 9 / Views: 1,704 |
|
|
Pillar of the Community
 United States
2448 Posts |
*** Moved by Staff to a more appropriate forum. ***I don't know how many saw this in the March issue of the Numismatist, but I was flabbergasted as I read the article "Short and Sweet". Not that I was surprised that the Mint constantly makes minor changes to coin designs until they think they have it right, but in how the Kennedy half has changed. Check out the picture of the 1964 KHD compared to the 1971 KHD as it appeared in the article and on my proofs:  Anyone else think that the profile of Kennedy has morphed into that of Clinton?   Edited by carmykle
03/17/2011 4:56 pm
|
|
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
4897 Posts |
 . but now that you mention it.... |
|
Moderator
 United States
188213 Posts |
Since this deals directly with the JKF Half Dollar, I moved it to the Modern US coins forum. I want to see more comments. Not so much on the Clinton resemblance, but what appears to be obvious differences.  |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
6326 Posts |
I suppose one could find, easy enough, the Mints artists examples that these were taken from, but it seems to me that the newer one actually looks LESS like Kennedy. The eyes, cheeks, and brow changed "wrongly" IMO. It went "further" away from his actual likeness. But, as I said, I'm sure the "newer" re-design was legitimately taken from many pictures and portraits and even FILM. So, it's an individual perspective and memory too I suppose, on what we "think" he should look like. And I'm basing "my" opinion here on the difference between the 1971 KHD & the '64, as it appeared in the article...... "Your" two coins actually look more similar or almost identicle to me ! ..... .... .....  ... ..  Edited by eaglefoot
03/17/2011 6:13 pm
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2130 Posts |
|
|
Pillar of the Community
 United States
2448 Posts |
I should have used the Denver coins as they did. You can still see in the 71S that the width of the profile was shortened and the image is smaller. I'm out of position right now, my daughter-in-law just gave birth to a 6 lb, 14 oz baby boy at 6:20 PM. Both are healthy so if someone else could post a 71 D, we might be able to make a better comparison of both coins. My posting of the two proofs was a poor choice.
Another reason that didn't occur to me...maybe some one at the magazine is having some fun with us.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
7629 Posts |
Compare a nice mint state 1964 Kennedy half dollar with one from the past few years out of a mint set. They look like completely different people. Compare a nice GEM 1932 quarter with a 1998 quarter. The first thing you'll notice is that the wig turned into spaghetti. Compare the size of Roosevelt's head on a 1946 dime with one from 1996. He has shrunk! Compare a 1909 Lincoln Cent with a 2009 Lincoln Cent. Looks like his head has caved in and he has slug lips! ALL of the circulating coin designs have been through a number of changes over the years - both obverse and reverse! Heck, some designs don't even last a year before they are changed. one of the most obvious is the 1921 Peace dollar versus its 1922 counterpart. The difference is very obvious. However, other coin designs lasted less than a full year before being changed. Like the 1916 Merucry dime. Get an example of that and a 1917 dime and you will see very small changes. Same thing happened with the 1909 Lincoln Cent. Aside from the initials being removed, there are also a number of other small changes in the reverse design - and BOTH can be found on 1909 cents! Once you dig deeply into the smallest details of the designs of our coins with a VERY detail oriented mind, you will find a LOT of changes, and you will find that they occurred just about every five to ten years! |
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
Coppercoins is right, the designs get tweaked on a regular basis. Lowering relief, sharpening details, slightly changing sizes and relative positions. Anyone who really looks at the modern coins should be able to tell this. During the late 70's early 80's it was possible to date the Washington quarters from the reverse by all the different changes in design and strike. |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2448 Posts |
Back again, he's absolutely spot on! Look at the coins below. You can really see the metamorphosis:  The profile steadily gets smaller and the eyes loose their "wisdom". Even the ellipse on the neck changes with the issues. It doesn't even look like him in later years. It only took me 47 years to really observe the changes. I now understand why people pay more attention to the coins they really love to collect and not the ones they save for their heirs. |
|
Valued Member
United States
271 Posts |
IMO, I beleive the design was perfect in the original release. The highlighted hair details was the first change to the design I'm aware of.
|
| |
Replies: 9 / Views: 1,704 |
|
Posted 03/17/2011 5:45 pm
