Teresa Cafarelli De Francisci
RogerB
Posts: 8,852 ✭✭✭✭✭
With several recent posts concerning de Francisci's 1921 Peace dollar design, I though it might be of interest to see a casual bas relief portrait of the sculptor's wife, Teresa. This is a photo of one of three bronze plaques the sculptor prepared as part of series depicting his wife and her family.
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Comments
Very cool....I think she looks better in profile.
The newspaper profile was designed to make her look like the dollar portrait....which she really did not. But, it was for the Sunday Supplement edition which was popular reading in 1922.
Odd that Teresa has only one leg and the dog has but two.
I totally missed that! How strange...
Missing legs or not-that's still a nice item.
When I first glanced at it, I thought the dog chain was a stream of urine....not sure what that says about me???
Very cool! thanks for posting!
I thought living people could NOT be on circulating coinage.
How cool though Teresa telling all her friends she was on the US Dollar.
From the angle/ perspective, perhaps the missing legs are simply behind the ones shown.
And the dollar portrait is not OF Teresa, but a representation of Liberty. Similarly, the modern dollar shows Sacajawea, not Randy L'Teton, even though she was the model.
Cool post
Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry
There is no law against using a living person as a model for a coin with the portrait of symbolic person. The prohibition, which I believe only applies to paper money, is against depicting an actual well-known person. Why do I say only paper money? In 1995 Eunice Kennedy Shriver appeared on the Special Olympics World Games commemorative silver dollar. There were some negative comments about that, but it was not illegal.
I think that the prohibition on paper money dates from the Civil War. Spenser Clark, who was the superintendent of engraving (Need to check his actual title.) placed his portrait on the five cent fractional currency note. There was a big howl over that despite the fact that some higher ups, who were very much alive, had their pictures on paper money also.
On the other Spinner, was very much alive and was even hand signing notes ...
I remember some restriction being discussed (not sure if it became policy) about the presidential series...that no presidential coin would be issued until the living President had died. Cheers, RickO
A very 1920's depiction. What year was it prepared? The missing legs were undoubtedly intentional but end up detracting from the sculpture.
Between 1920 and 1923. Other family_ bas reliefs_ were mostly 1923.
There is something wrong with that upper lip.
I suspect the lip is a lighting/photography artifact.
Pres. Coolidge was on the Sesquicentennial half dollar of which he approved. Several other living persons have been on commemorative coins.
Current presidential dollar restrictions are intended to place time and perspective between the past President and his/her reputation, and reduce direct politicization of the coinage.