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Why has US coins been historically just so ugly

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  • lermishlermish Posts: 4,403 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @mrbrklyn said:

    @lermish said:

    @mrbrklyn said:

    @lermish said:

    @mrbrklyn said:

    @mrbrklyn said:

    Catbird will now come and say - "the first thing I thought of when I saw this coin was a picture of a man taking a dump"..

    I don't know about @Catbert but that's certainly what I think when I see most of your posts.

    so - it is easy not to read. The Yetzah Harah is strong with you.

    I have read and understood your posts perfectly, despite your grade school grammatical errors.

    As a fellow Jewish person, when I see your posts, I think the same thing I think when I see the Hasidim: How embarrassing.

    That is incohernet and irrelevent, but OK. If Hassidim bother you, don't look at them. I am grateful you can read my writing. It is unfortunate that it only inspires you to complain about Hassidim and wander off the discussion.

    I strongly encourage you to do better. You owe it to yourself.

    Let me be more coherent. My complaint is about you. I used an analogy I thought you might understand but clearly I failed.

    So here's my bargain for you. I will do better...if you stop posting so much absurd junk. You owe it to all of us.

    chopmarkedtradedollars.com

  • mrbrklynmrbrklyn Posts: 473 ✭✭✭

    @coastaljerseyguy said:
    I think there are plenty of US coins nicely designed, although not much starting late 21 century.

    Not many in the 18th, or 19th century either. The first decent coin was probably the Buffalo Nickel, although the Flying Eagle design was decent. The rest was cheap knockoffs of British coinage or just ungly, unimaganitivate design. The entire Godl series with Libery heads, those could all be melted down and used for jewelry ... or anything. they are so ugly.

    Even ancient coins did some really facinating things like creating designs with optical illusions that look different depending how you held them in your hands.

    So many immigrant groups have swept through our town that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998
  • cinque1543cinque1543 Posts: 412 ✭✭✭

    @coinkat said:

    That's a great British trade dollar. Thanks for posting.

    To chime in on the OP's question, lots of countries (not just the U.S.) produce uninspired designs. But the U.S. has its stand-outs. For me, the $5 gold incused Indian Head is one of most beautiful U.S. coins. And IMHO, among all the major mints, the Paris Mint produces the most artistic and most unique coins. But my impression is that the majority of collector's focus mainly on coins from their own country. (Happy to be wrong about that last point.)

  • mrbrklynmrbrklyn Posts: 473 ✭✭✭

    Let me be more coherent. My complaint is about you. I used an analogy I thought you might understand but clearly I failed.

    So here's my bargain for you. I will do better...if you stop posting so much absurd junk. You owe it to all of us.

    EXCELLENT - now try focusing on the topic and discussing coins. You can send me a private email when you are ready to do so because for now I'm going to skip over your posting. I'm looking forward when you write something about coins.

    So many immigrant groups have swept through our town that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998
  • scotty1419scotty1419 Posts: 1,026 ✭✭✭

    I dont think they've ALWAYS been ugly? Just since the designs of the 50s/60s primarily.

    Even with designs that could be interesting, it seems that a lot of detail is often avoided for the sake of manufacturing/processing efficiency? IT seems like more designs are computer generated now which also seems to sacrifice detail for the beautiful of those earlier models that were clearly hand-done works of art.

  • mrbrklynmrbrklyn Posts: 473 ✭✭✭
    edited March 6, 2026 6:40AM

    @cinque1543 said:

    @coinkat said:

    That's a great British trade dollar. Thanks for posting.

    To chime in on the OP's question, lots of countries (not just the U.S.) produce uninspired designs. But the U.S. has its stand-outs. For me, the $5 gold incused Indian Head is one of most beautiful U.S. coins. And IMHO, among all the major mints, the Paris Mint produces the most artistic and most unique coins. But my impression is that the majority of collector's focus mainly on coins from their own country. (Happy to be wrong about that last point.)

    I agree that half eagle is an exception coin and a 100 years old in design. In our lifetime, they have put out billions of coins of unastheric garbage, that hasn't even been minted that well. We had one 30 year spout of inspired coin design in the 250 years of this county, starting with the Half Disme startled Chicken Coin through to today.

    We can all name those few exceptions. The Mint keeps reminting those same designs because they can't create someting new.

    So many immigrant groups have swept through our town that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998
  • mrbrklynmrbrklyn Posts: 473 ✭✭✭
    edited March 6, 2026 7:24AM

    @scotty1419 said:
    I dont think they've ALWAYS been ugly? Just since the designs of the 50s/60s primarily.

    Even with designs that could be interesting, it seems that a lot of detail is often avoided for the sake of manufacturing/processing efficiency? IT seems like more designs are computer generated now which also seems to sacrifice detail for the beautiful of those earlier models that were clearly hand-done works of art.

    And the Liberty Nickel's and the scared witch designs, and the beehive hairdoo golds... Computer generation of coin design can be used to create better designs, but that is not how they are choicing to use them

    So many immigrant groups have swept through our town that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998
  • pcgsregistrycollectorpcgsregistrycollector Posts: 2,202 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Grammar has been thrown out of the window? :p

    Proud follower of Christ!

  • mr1931Smr1931S Posts: 6,758 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited March 6, 2026 1:54PM

    @mrbrklyn said:

    @mr1931S said:

    @MFeld said:

    @mrbrklyn said:

    @mr1931S said:
    the mundane and poorly executed Lincoln cent which has been just a boring and dull portrait and design and the Meorial (sic), Wheatback and others have been dull and mundane.

    What do you collect?

    Lincon Cents more than anything else. I have 10's of thousands of them in 5 huge vases and more in cups, pockets, shells, ash trays, cigar boxes and on the bottom of my laundry bin

    What you described isn’t collecting.

    Exactly. OP should put his pennies back into the channels of commerce. Coinstar will take them off his hands except for any sparrow farthings that might have found their way into his collection accumulation of pennies.

    they are collected

    Most everyone here can see that you are accumulating them rather than collecting them. Butt, if you consider that "they are collected (by you)" do you know why you are "collecting them" in such a disorganized fashion? Collectors of most anything collectible conduct their collecting in a more organized fashion than you are describing how you are collecting your pennies, pennies that get no love from you, i might add.

    Have you been collecting pennies for a long time, say, since the 1970s?

    "Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is to not stop questioning."
    Albert Einstein

  • jmlanzafjmlanzaf Posts: 39,296 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @pcgsregistrycollector said:
    Grammar has been thrown out of the window? :p

    Boy is Grandpa mad...

    All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.

  • jmlanzafjmlanzaf Posts: 39,296 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @mr1931S said:

    @mrbrklyn said:

    @mr1931S said:

    @MFeld said:

    @mrbrklyn said:

    @mr1931S said:
    the mundane and poorly executed Lincoln cent which has been just a boring and dull portrait and design and the Meorial (sic), Wheatback and others have been dull and mundane.

    What do you collect?

    Lincon Cents more than anything else. I have 10's of thousands of them in 5 huge vases and more in cups, pockets, shells, ash trays, cigar boxes and on the bottom of my laundry bin

    What you described isn’t collecting.

    Exactly. OP should put his pennies back into the channels of commerce. Coinstar will take them off his hands except for any sparrow farthings that might have found their way into his collection accumulation of pennies.

    they are collected

    Most everyone here can see that you are accumulating them rather than collecting them. Butt, if you consider that "they are collected (by you)" do you know why you are "collecting them" in such a disorganized fashion? Collectors of most anything collectible conduct their collecting in a more organized fashion than you are describing how you are collecting your pennies, pennies that get no love from you, i might add.

    Have you been collecting pennies for a long time, say, since the 1970s?

    Kind of rude to refer to him as a body part.

    All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.

  • IkesTIkesT Posts: 4,059 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Creg said:
    A meeting of the minds.^^

  • CregCreg Posts: 1,361 ✭✭✭✭✭

    The perpetual thread.

  • RedRocketRedRocket Posts: 750 ✭✭✭✭

    @jmlanzaf said:
    .

    Accurate.
    Regards, R. Rocket

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