Connecting coins, the arts, and monument

The nation’s great designers of coins also created some of our greatest monuments.Take Mount Rushmore, depicted here. Before its creation, its designer also designed a coin, previewing yet another massive monument. Discover more in the Coin World Monthly edition for August.

Public Domain Image.

The latest Coin World Monthly edition, for August 2017, has been sent to the presses, and we have a quick preview of some Coin World exclusives, to be found also in our latest digital edition.

Coins and monuments: the artistic connection

What do the Stone Mountain Memorial, Mount Rushmore, and several U.S. coins have in common?

Gerald Tebben writes in his cover feature, “Numerous … coin designers have created massive monuments to American ideals, heroes and even one demagogue. Their work proclaims the majesty of law outside the United States Supreme Court, personifies victory in New York City’s Grand Army Plaza and memorializes Kingfish Huey Long outside the Louisiana statehouse.”

 

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The artists behind the most beautiful U.S. paper money

“While unfamiliar to most Americans, to collectors of late 19th and early 20th century United States paper money the names Charles Burt, Marcus W. Baldwin, Alfred Jones, Charles M. Chalmers, Walter Shirlaw and G.F.C. Smillie are synonymous with artistic brilliance,” writes Paul Gilkes in the feature leading off the Paper Money section of Coin World Monthly.

He adds, “All were prolific artists who designed and engraved many of the most well-known vignettes and art elements to appear on paper currency.”

 

Coins and memory: Collecting coins lets us remember

“Coins represent memories to many collectors, serving as a symbol of the past and as objects that trigger recollections,” writes Steve Roach in “The Investment Column.”

“If you’re like me, perhaps you sometimes forget seemingly small things, like birthdays — even with lots of smart technology created to prevent this sort of lapse — and yet, you can remember and describe many of your favorite coins, medals, tokens, or paper money in a detailed way,” he adds.

 

In coins, as in life, imitation is considered flattery

“When a world mint launches a coin with a theme that resonates strongly with collectors, resulting in a quick sellout and secondary market premiums, other mints typically soon produce similar coins,” writes Louis Golino in his “Topical Topics” column.

He explains: “Probably no other theme has been the subject of as many collectible world coins in the past five years as ancient mythology, a subject that reaches into many corners of the world and periods of history. The theme provides a rich terrain of ancient myths, legends and deities that can be depicted on coins.”


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