Smoking and smokers on coins

[<k>]

UK, 50 pence, 2019.  Sherlock Holmes, a fictional character.

[Figleaf]

Not an easy subject to find, but here is a token from WoT that is on subject.

Peter

[Figleaf]

This coin puts smoking in a positive context: peace.

It is the same with the first two: justice for criminals and protecting minors.

Peter

[chrisild]

What a disgusting topic.   Here are two smokers who have recently been honored on German collector coins. Not because they smoked, hehe, but the design includes a cigarette (Otto Dix, artist, €20, 2016) or a pipe (Peter Behrens, architect, €20, 2018). And yes, the two coins have the same size.

Christian

[chrisild]

Interestingly, two coins from the Federal Republic of Germany that were issued as circulation coins or circulating commems do not feature smoking, even though people (at least over here) would have expected that. Both Ludwig Erhard and Helmut Schmidt were chancellors (head of government), and both were "famous" smokers. Erhard preferred cigars, Schmidt smoked cigarettes.

The Schmidt coin even shows his hands, in some communicative gesture (or lecturing pose?), so it would have been easy to add what many thought was missing.   Maybe the government figured that, if you depict smoking on circulating pieces, it might get sued because of the lack of a health warning label ...

Christian

[<k>]

Helmut Schmidt was equally noted for using snuff (Schnupftabak, in German), but I can only find Getty- and Alamy-watermarked images of him doing that.

[chrisild]

Well, here is one. But when the Schmidt coin design became known, pretty much everybody wondered - where is the cigarette?   The answer is: here, on this 20 shillings gold coin "from" the Somali Republic (11 mm, only 0.5 g). Embedded link from reppa.de; if it does not show, click here ...

Christian

[chrisild]

Another pipe smoker - the Swiss writer Max Frisch.

Here he is on a 20 Fr collector coin (image: Swissmint) from 2011.

Christian

[<k>]

USA, $1, 2016.  Mark Twain.

[<k>]

Gibraltar, 1 crown, 2015.  50th anniversary of Churchill's death.

[Oklahoman]

A beautiful coin of Samoa shows Robert Louis Stevenson smoking.

[eurocoin]

A beautiful coin of Samoa shows Robert Louis Stevenson smoking.

I think he is not smoking but rather holding a pencil.
Ps: Try to also upload 1 or more images with your messages.

[Oklahoman]

Augustus St. Gaudens designed the plaque from which this design is from.  He created two versions for sale to the art world. In one version he has a writing utensil.  In the other he is smoking.  I have seen both versions in museums in NY and here in Oklahoma.  So it is possible you are right.  Have to take a closer look at my coin.

[Oklahoman]

I just checked on Numista.  The coin shows the pen version.  That was a good catch.

[Oklahoman]

If you Google "Capturing the Captivating Robert Louis Stevenson" you will be linked to a great article detailing the original plaque where Stevenson is smoking a cigarette.   But when the design was selected to honor Stevenson in a church in Scotland, it was modified to show a pen.  The Samoan coin used the pen version.