Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Annals of numismatics: The full-frontal Jefferson
The United States Mind unveiled its chosen design for the new Jefferson nickel, which it bills as "the first time in history ... the image of President Thomas Jefferson will face forward." This is not surprising, though, since prior to the current "Westward Journey Nickel Series"TM the Mint had not monkeyed with the original profile design since it replaced the Indian on the front of the "buffalo" nickel in 1938. The Mint is trying to say that the images of United States presidents on coins have been in profile since the launch of the custom with the Lincoln cent in 1909. Of course, there have been any number of images of the female "Liberty" that were not in profile, and Sacagawea is not in profile, although she is looking back over her shoulder, presumably so we can get a clear shot of the papoose. It was, after all, a Clinton administration design.The new Jeff nickel obverse is the product of the Mint's "Artist Infusion Program," which is "designed to enrich and invigorate(pdf) the designs of the United States Mint’s coins and medals." One might well ask why the nation's coinage needs to be "enriched," and the answer is that it is ugly, which is a shame because it was once beautiful. Our coins once looked like this, this and this, and now even the Mint's commemorative efforts are, well, pedestrian. As I wrote more than a year ago, last year's "Louisiana Purchase" nickel was particularly lame.
Our coins are not ugly because an insufficient number of competent artists have been "infused," whatever that means. It is because we have allowed politics to govern the design of our coinage, which is a shame. President Theodore Roosevelt, who does not himself appear on any regular circulation coin, commissioned the sculptor Augustus St. Gaudens to design some of the most beautiful coins the world had ever seen, befitting his vision of American greatness.It was, however, a huge mistake, at least from an artistic perspective, to start putting dead presidents on our coins. If you confine your imagery to pictures of old men, there isn't much you can do to make it beautiful, "artist infusion" notwithstanding. And the Carter Administration's innovation of adding old women did not improve the situation.
For more than two centuries the artists of the United States Mint have designed beautiful coinage. It has gotten ugly only since it became yet another opportunity for political statement and partisan jabbing. No matter how many artists we infuse, our coinage will be drab as long as we use it to score political points. Take the politics out, and unleash the artists that we have.
1 Comments:
By 
Bass Kid, at
Fri Jan 27, 05:39:00 PM:
There is actaully a move by coin collectors to restore our once beutiful coinage designs. Go to www.coinlobby.blogspot.com for more info. as well as links to help get you started collecting coins.
