Mint Director Calls for a "Neo-Renaissance of Coinage Design"

RWB

Director Moy recently made some key goal statements that have not been heard from the mint in quite a while. Anyone have comments on the following? What, if anything, can collectors do that will be positive and constructive?

As Mint director, one of the things I’d like to leave behind is to be known as a catalyst for a new Renaissance, a neo-Renaissance of coinage design that would reflect the best and the future of the new millennium instead of being rooted in doing redesigns of the past…

As we try to summarize everything we want to do in a simple sentence that would encapsulate our vision for where the Mint will head, it reads this: to embody the American spirit through the creation of our nation’s coins and medals…

mgoodm3

The problem is that congress likes DP's

EagleEye

He better hurry, as he only has 16 months on the job left.

cladking

I think this really is coming but I fear the results will be poor
if they try to do it in isolation of bringing the coinage system
up to date.

LonerAnger

I think it would be a good move. It would take people's minds off the fact that our money is junk pot metal. At least it would be ATTRACTIVE junk pot metal.

That's a "win" isn't it?

IGWT

It's unlikely that a desire for artistic design will conquer our love for committees. We just can't seem to help ourselves. We are far more concerned with the process of making decisions than with what the process produces.

cmerlo1

I'll belive him when I see it in detailed high relief, in mint packaging.

LanLord

<< <i>I'll belive him when I see it in detailed high relief, in mint packaging. >>

You're not holding your breath are you?

Longacre

Without strong support from Congress and other influential persons, Moy is not going to get too far. It's the sad state of affairs today.

cladking

<< <i>I'll belive him when I see it in detailed high relief, in mint packaging. >>




Relief could be raised if we weren't producing 10,000,000,000 coins with more "pot metal"
in them than their face value. Presses have to run high speed to keep up with the demand
of throwing this junk into the garbage.

sumnom

What is a "neo-renaissance?" This sounds like a term coined in the Department of Redundancy Department.

LonerAnger

What is a neo-rennaissance?

THIS is a neo rennaissance:



All hail.

FLBuffaloHunter

In 2008 The Mint will produce a series of high relief Proof only .9999 fine $50 1oz gold coins, one for each planet in the solar system comemorating the NASA's space program 50th year, with a maximum mintage of 50,000 and a Proof only $1 1oz silver coins with a maximum mintage of 300,000 individual coins being offered. No Uncirculated versions of the coins would be produced, a first for the commemorative coin program.

The high relief $50 gold coins will be sold only as part of a set that includes the 9 silver dollars surrounding the gold coin in the center in elliptical orbits as part of a presentation case for each of the coins. All presentation cases would bear a plaque with inscriptions that include the names and dates of the spacecraft missions on which astronauts lost their lives over the course of the space program.

Bronze medals duplicating the designs of the gold coins will also be sold.

FLBuffaloHunter

Dupe

messydesk

He was at a Q&A forum at the ANA show in Milwaukee. This came up more than once then, so one could say he's just telling us what we want to hear. I don't see much good coming of it as long as Congress is intent on leaving its trail of slime on coinage design.

Another curious observation about his statement, wanting as his legacy "to be known as a catalyst for a new Renaissance" (ignoring the semantics of what "new Renaissance" means) seems like a rather blurry ambition for a work perpetually in progress. He's the freakin' mint director with several denominations at his disposal for redesign without Congressional approval. He should want "to be known as having started the new Renaissance." I asked him about whether he'd have open design contests for future coinage or if it would be solely an internal mint project, and he said he would like to invite artists outside the mint to participate in the process. Start the design contests now!

Arizonadesertrat

It would be great if this would really happen, but politics will get in the way. Democrats on the hill will fight to keep FDR on the dime, and the Virginia delegation has fought tooth and nail to keep Thomas Jefferson on the nickel.

Gemineye

<< <i>What is a neo-rennaissance?




All hail. >>

BobGreene

The Act of The Act of Sept. 26, 1890 gave the Secretary of the Treasury the authority to change coinage designs after 25 years. Has this act been overturned or overwritten? Does he still have this authority? If so, all we need is a Treasury Secretary that has the cajones to go ahead and do it, and to do it quickly and quietly so that some polititian with a cause doesn't have time to stop it.

TavernTreasures

GAT

They better go and awaken St Gaudens from the dead like Lazarus if they want a renaissance.

cladking

We have the talent to create the best designs ever. We could incorporate more
modern art. I don't think a St Gaudens is needed so much as the committees need
to be excluded.

GAT

<< <i>We have the talent to create the best designs ever. We could incorporate more
modern art. I don't think a St Gaudens is needed so much as the committees need
to be excluded. >>


Based upon what I see in the State Quarter designs I doubt if this is true.

Zoins

<< <i>We could incorporate more modern art. >>

I like the art on the coins at the turn of the century which represented art of the time. Then Art Deco came along which is present on many SCDs and European Artist Medals. By comparison, I'm not sure today's "modern art" would look good on small metal discs.

sumnom

The talent is out there but I wonder if the talented are interested in designing coins. I also wonder if the mint will leave well enough alone once the designs have been completed. As I never tire of saying, the sac and the 2005 nickel obverse are some of the best ever produced for circulating US coinage. It is possible to produce new and beautiful designs.

RWB

Saint-Gaudens work was contracted for $5,000, and his estate was paid $6,000. Brenner got $1,000 and most other coin and medal commissions of the era ranged from $750 to $1,500. (Poor Bela Pratt was stiffed by Frank Leach for only $600.)

How much was Glenna Goodacre paid for the Sacagawea dollar design? $5,000 - the same as Saint-Gaudens 90 years before. To properly compensate a talented artist the commission should be approximately $50,000 - about one afternoon's pay for some moron-level street thug in the NBA.

sumnom

Talent costs real money. Good people are out there but you get what you pay for.

fastrudy

So offer Dan Carr a gov't job?????

sumnom

Mr. Carr has done some nice work. I like his Amero designs.

Coxe

Too many dead presidents and not enough denominations.

TrustNo1

<< <i>

<< <i>What is a neo-rennaissance?




All hail. >>



>>

8 years, sucks to be on the losing side huh? Maybe the Dems can pick a winner for you guys next time.

Zoins

<< <i>Saint-Gaudens work was contracted for $5,000, and his estate was paid $6,000. Brenner got $1,000 and most other coin and medal commissions of the era ranged from $750 to $1,500. (Poor Bela Pratt was stiffed by Frank Leach for only $600.)

How much was Glenna Goodacre paid for the Sacagawea dollar design? $5,000 - the same as Saint-Gaudens 90 years before. To properly compensate a talented artist the commission should be approximately $50,000 - about one afternoon's pay for some moron-level street thug in the NBA. >>

You are missing the 5,000 specially prepared Presentation dollars that was part of Glenna's compensation package. The dollars included two types and would only have to be valued at $10 a piece to be $50,000 plus $5,000 in compensation. However, they are worth a lot more than $10 a piece so she was more than properly compensated if the going rate is $50,000.

COINB0Y

I say just let Dan Carr take over the design crew.

sumnom

Goodacre was worth the money.

sumnom

Did Rogers get anything?

Artist

In order for such a renaissance to occur, Moy would need to adjust the role of the CFA and CCAC - bigtime.

dcarr

When I was in a "pilot proggram" for the current US Mint "Artistic Infusion Program" (AIP) in 1998, I was paid $2,500 each for two state quarter designs that were used (NY and RI). I was not given any recognition by the Mint whatsover for this work, other than a check which came in the mail with no accompanying documentation. Other invited artists in the competition were paid $250 per design submitted, up to five. We were given narratives to work from. In the case of NY, the narrative was very specific (restrictive). What I did on that coin amounted to basically arranging the furniture that committees had already picked out. The RI coin narrative was more open and offered the possibility for more artistic license.

But the current US Mint arrangement in which coin designs are created has significant limitations. The big problem is that you have the artists in the AIP who come up with the graphic art (illustrations) for coins. But then a US Mint sculptor/engraver has to take over and sculpt it. No two artists ever have the same vision. But here you have a situation where multiple artists (and committees) have a hand in every coin design. Personally, I would not want to have to always sculpt designs created by someone else.

I think the solution is to revamp the AIP such that all submitted coins are in the form of a sculpture rather than a drawing. That way, committees reviewing potential coin designs can better see (in 3-D) what the final product would look like. In the present arrangement, a pencil drawing is approved for production and then it disappears and nobody sees any more until the coin is issued. But there are always deviations (sometimes undesireable) from the approved drawing whenever hand sculpture is involved.

sumnom

I am not convinced that many of the pencil drawings have much merit to begin with.