What is your favorite coin/medal era art style?

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Clio
Clio Posts: 653 ✭✭✭✭✭
in World & Ancient Coins Forum

Art has played a pretty big part in the designs and styles of coinage and medals throughout history. I wanted to ask here, what are some of your favorite eras of design? What's an example you are particularly fond or?

Byzantine, Hellenistic, Romanesque, Baroque (Colonial), Gothic, Art Nouveau, Art Deco?

I am certainly partial to the Art Deco style of Percy Metcalf's work and its presence across the British Empire.

An example I am particularly fond of:

Shame there's no coins with this art.

https://numismaticmuse.com/ My Web Gallery

The best collecting goals lie right on the border between the possible and the impossible. - Andy Lustig, "MrEureka"

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  • johnny9434
    johnny9434 Posts: 34,068 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    great britan

  • bosox
    bosox Posts: 1,656 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited August 21, 2026 11:05AM
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    Leonard Wyon's simple, yet beautiful design for the first Canadian cent, here struck in copper-nickel before the fragile reverse punch began suffering damage. SP-66, pop 1/0. Photo by PCGS.

    The obverse was a byproduct of the many designs Wyon did in 1857 for a proposed British decimal coinage.

    Numismatic author & owner of the Uncommon Cents collections. 2011 and 2025 Fred Bowman Literary Award, 2025 Guy Potter Literary Award, 2022 Paul Fiocca Award, & 2020 J. Douglas Ferguson Award.

    http://www.victoriancent.com
  • Clio
    Clio Posts: 653 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    @bosox said:
    Leonard Wyon's simple, yet beautiful design for the first Canadian cent, here struck in copper-nickel before the fragile reverse punch began suffering damage. SP-66, pop 1/0. Photo by PCGS.

    The obverse was a byproduct of the many designs Wyon did in 1857 for a proposed British decimal coinage.

    So....

    "His style followed the combination of neo-classicism and detailed naturalism"

    Neat combo.

    @johnny9434 said:
    great britan

    What art style is this considered?

    https://numismaticmuse.com/ My Web Gallery

    The best collecting goals lie right on the border between the possible and the impossible. - Andy Lustig, "MrEureka"

  • coinkat
    coinkat Posts: 24,542 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited August 21, 2026 11:22AM
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    There are some excellent designs that not just capture the subject matter, but reflect the times in which they were struck. Several coins and medals were even ahead of their time in terms of artistic merit and I see many of them as timeless.

    Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.

  • bosox
    bosox Posts: 1,656 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Wyon took some artistic liberties with the Canada cent design. First, Victoria was 39 years old in 1858, and not as youthful as Wyon's flattering portrait. Second, per his journal, he went to Kew Gardens to perfect his rendition for silver maple leaves, which is a tree not a vine.

    There is evidence that the vine concept was probably influenced by Wyon's nephew, George, the resident engraver at the Royal Mint.

    Numismatic author & owner of the Uncommon Cents collections. 2011 and 2025 Fred Bowman Literary Award, 2025 Guy Potter Literary Award, 2022 Paul Fiocca Award, & 2020 J. Douglas Ferguson Award.

    http://www.victoriancent.com
  • johnny9434
    johnny9434 Posts: 34,068 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    @Clio said:

    @bosox said:
    Leonard Wyon's simple, yet beautiful design for the first Canadian cent, here struck in copper-nickel before the fragile reverse punch began suffering damage. SP-66, pop 1/0. Photo by PCGS.

    The obverse was a byproduct of the many designs Wyon did in 1857 for a proposed British decimal coinage.

    So....

    "His style followed the combination of neo-classicism and detailed naturalism"

    Neat combo.

    @johnny9434 said:
    great britan

    What art style is this considered?

    I liked it, no hard feelings

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