Thoughts on the 2004 Edison commem
66Tbird
Posts: 2,858 ✭✭✭
I kind of like it. I hope the waves in his jacket show do to a some relief. I don't mind the rev. either, kind of busy but OK. Should make nice Unc. and Proof,
If it's been discussed before,,,,,,, well I missed it
If it's been discussed before,,,,,,, well I missed it
Need something designed and 3D printed?
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"Senorita HepKitty"
"I want a real cool Kitty from Hepcat City, to stay in step with me" - Bill Carter
Dan
mcinnes@mailclerk.ecok.edu">dmcinnes@mailclerk.ecok.edu
We'll use our hands and hearts and if we must we'll use our heads.
As soon as they recognize Tesla, I'd consider that amateur Edison. If it were up to Edison, we'd have DC powered everything and transformers every 50 feet.
Tesla is the reason for today's electrical grid and if money grubbing fools hadn't modified it, we'd be light years ahead of where we are.
I'm sure Thomas Alva has his fans, but I'll stay away from that one. Where's the Tesla Commemorative???
Is he being recognized for the failed light bulb that Tesla showed him how to make work, the obsolete wax spool phonograph, or the machine that communicates with the dead?
John Marnard Keynes, The Economic Consequences of the Peace, 1920, page 235ff
2 Cam-Slams!
1 Russ POTD!
BC
<< <i>Where's the Tesla Commemorative??? >>
Try Yugoslavia, I believe they issued one for him. And you can't use transformers with DC current. Once the initial reactance is overcome the coil acts like a dead short. Edisons plan was for generators every mile or so. He didn't invent the electric light bulb either. He did however make it practical. Edison did have a couple of good inventions but most of the patents he is credited with came from other people. The most important invention he had is never even mentioned, the modern research lab that lead to the creation of all those other inventions.
Web: www.tonyharmer.org
09/07/2006
<< <i>My only thought is that the portrait bears a striking resemblance to Q. David Bowers.
BC >>
Vietnam Vet 1968-1969
with regard to the design, i think the U.S. Mint has heard the gnashing of teeth and seen the wringing of hands over the current state of our coinage. the trouble doesn't lie in their lap, it's currently been waylayed by the Congress. i haven't the slightest idea about how to rectify that travesty. the Mint Director is attempting to involve artists/sculptors in the process, but what can they do once laws are passed restricting design elements?? and out in la-la-land we have lawsuits trying to remove/alter the motto!!! what we need is a pro-active President who outlines his mandate in such a way as to include some of these concerns, followed by an eight year term so they can be instituted. that would be a nice start. i don't believe we'll get that with the current administration.
al h.
I thought it was a Q. David Bowers commem
The reverse: Well, fine if you like light bulbs and geometry. Whatever happened to the days of allegorical figures of Invention, Electricity etc.? All of Edison's accomplishments have been dumbed down to a light bulb? Seems like there ought to be more encompassing iconography. Well at least there's no state outline anyway.
hey WindWhispers
please name me something more symbolic than light?? we have similar references on many U.S. designs, just not a manmade example. coins such as Walkers and Peace Dollars are suggestive of spiritual light, or to put it bluntly, the light of freedom, one of the basic tenets of the constitution and gifts given to all men by the Creator. at least that was what the founders thought. you might consider how the light of Edisons primary contribution to mankind affected your freedom.
al h.
I have no problem with the use of "light", freedom, etc.
I just dislike the coin's aesthetics. It avoids the symbolic traditions you mention (such as the sunrise on the Walking Liberty Half representing the dawn of liberty about the world). It is a literal depiction of a lightbulb, without any context or other symbolism to show the significance of that invention to the world.
The geometric light rays only seem there to fill space, rather than to help suggest/show the significance of the invention depicted. There is no artistic interpretation of what the light bulb means or its importance. In other words, the design does NOT help us to "consider how the light of Edisons primary contribution to mankind affected [our] freedom."
To my mind, this design lacks appeal and content in the same way a yellow smiley face pales next to the Mona Lisa.
Here is the bank note I was thinking of, Electricity presenting Light to the World. Heck, I'd rather look at a female figure than a light bulb.
c'mon now, it's a commemorative coin!! it clearly states over the top of the reverse 125th Anniversary of The Light Bulb. what exactly would they put a picture of there, an eagle holding an olive branch?? you'd have to be daft not to understand what the lightbulb did for mankind, it brought him essentially out of the dark. as for the bill you presented, it is a wonderful design. please explain to me how i would know what the allegorical figures represent without someone explaining it to me?? and your other comparison is pathetically insulting.
i fully understand the use of symbolic design elements on our coinage. when i look at the reverse of the Edison i see something differently than you and i'll try to explain it briefly.
what you see-----The geometric light rays only seem there to fill space, rather than to help suggest/show the significance of the invention depicted. There is no artistic interpretation of what the light bulb means or its importance.
what i see-----i see seven distinct rays of light emenating from Edison's invention. the number seven is a deeply spiritual and mystically significant number. it represents completion. if you study metaphysics you may get some further inkling into what that's all about, this is the wrong place for the discussion. i could be way off base, but i assume that there are seven rays by design and not coincidence. perhaps the designer meant to imply a further movement of the race towards it's Creator, a furthering of our completion as a result of the invention.
the bottom line for me----just because i don't understand something or find it aesthetically pleasing doesn't mean it lacks content, possibly it just means i haven't been able to perceive it.
al h.
I respect your opinion but don't agree with it. If Mercanti wants us to know that the seven rays have an important symbolic meaning, then why are they so graphically subdued compared to the 6 arcs and the very prominent light bulb? What meaning does he intend the 7 to have? An occult interpretation? Christian? Numerology? A more convincing interpretation for me is that the 6 arcs are an abstract earth, with the light rays of Edison's creation overspreading. However, the sharp truncation of the arcs at bottom weakens the interpretation of them as an abstract earth.
Thank you techeff,
That's exactly what I mean by more informative symbolism. That design depicts a symbolic context for the lightbulb...it's such a significant invention that it's light illuminates the world in an almost heavenly manner, or it's impact is almost akin to the light of the sun from the heavens. In this design, the worldwide impact of the invention is most important, not the physical shape of the lightbulb as in Mercanti's reverse.
hey WindWhispers
they are only graphically subdued to you, they stand out to me. i tried to explain that in an earlier post, we each see things differently. the peculiar thing about the interpretation of such symbols is that we inherently understand the meanings they suggest, whether on the conscious or sub-conscious level, it really doesn't matter. besides, if the designs employed on our coinage were meant to be self-explanatory and obvious at first glance, they would cease to be symbolic in nature. with the Edison design, the lightbulb is clear, it's the underlying message which isn't. as far as the occult, Christianity and Numerology, those are all linked directly/indirectly and rightly/wrongly to religion. the symbolism we're speaking of isn't religious in nature. as far as your mention that the 6 arcs are an abstract earth, they more likely represent the darkness that was broken by the light. nothing tricky, just another example of Occams Razor.
what i think is that your disdain for the design overwhelms everything else.
al h.
Very disappointing and very sad indeed.
Camelot