World of Coins

I do not collect pre-euro Finnish commemorative coins (except bimetallic issues) as such...but since I'm almost done with type collection of Finnish Euro coins, I decided to look out for some nice pre-euro Finnish commemorative coins, and guess what, these two arrived last week! :)

Here's the first one:

10 Markka, 1970, 22.75g, 0.500 fine silver, 35mm, 100th birth anniversary of President Paasikivi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juho_Kusti_Paasikivi), Mintage: 600,000, KM# 51.

Obverse:  Denomination below date, brick wall background


Reverse: Head of President Paasikivi


Aditya

And the second one:

10 Markka, 1971, 24.20g, 0.500 fine silver, 35mm, Athletic Championships, Mintage: 1,000,000, KM# 52.

Obverse: Denomination above city scene


Reverse: Runners on track, date lower right


Aditya

An excellent pairing, design-wise. The athletics coin borders on the ultra-conventional and what was known as "socialllist art". Tellingly, some Soviet pieces commemorating the Moscow Olympics were designed along the same lines. Only the figures of the runners betray deviant thought. They are no "social-realist" bags of muscles, as a Soviet artist would have depicted them.

The contrast with the Paasikivi design is total. The hard and deep worry lines on the face and the old-fashioned glasses speak of the hard life of a conservative who has to deal with a strong force on his left, without support on his right. This is a portrait of a character, rather than a person.

The deceptively simple brick wall can be interpreted any way you want. It can mean a halt to capitalism, a symbol for the unbending ways of uncle Joe Stalin, Finnish military resistance against the Soviets, even a protest against the communism that built the Berlin wall. In this way, it symbolises Paasikivi's realism, ability to live with forces, stronger than his own and his diplomacy of the underdog but also Finland's way to live with an aggressive and overbearing neighbour by saying things in a way that can be interpreted differently by different people. You can't communicate with a brick wall, but you can make sure it doesn't fall on top of you.

Peter

I thought the Brick wall and the portrait were depictions of the same thing. Strength.
Dale

PS added:
His forehead looks like the brick wall.

That is what separates figurative from modern art. In modern art, you do your own interpreting. Therefore, any interpretation is correct. As a Dutch artist put it: "art is the most individual expression of the most individual emotion".

Modern art's main problem is that there is a point where the spectator gives up interpreting, blaming the artist (rightly so) and muttering about how a three year old could have done that.

Peter

(http://www.nga.gov/feature/pollock/lm1024.jpg)

I couldn't even afford the insurance on this one :)

Is that Jackson Pollock?
Looks like a rock...maybe Granite.

Dale

Quote from: cmerc on April 26, 2013, 10:00:18 PM

I couldn't even afford the insurance on this one :)

Quote from: Prosit on April 26, 2013, 11:38:34 PM
Is that Jackson Pollock?
Looks like a rock...maybe Granite.

Pollock's Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist).  I think Pollock's works are quintessential "a three year old can do this" paintings!  (Actually much harder thank it looks.)

Quote from: Bimat on April 26, 2013, 04:34:48 PM
I do not collect pre-euro Finnish commemorative coins (except bimetallic issues) as such...but since I'm almost done with type collection of Finnish Euro coins, I decided to look out for some nice pre-euro Finnish commemorative coins, and guess what, these two arrived last week! :)

Nice designs, especially the Paasikivi coin. The artist, Heikki Häiväoja, has made several Finnish coins, such as the Kekkonen piece (1975) and the cent denominations of the Finnish euro coins. Elsewhere in the World of Coins there is a medal (http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,2484.msg86961.html#msg86961) that he designed. And he even made a medal with coins (http://www.carnercoins.com/images/002a%20-%20Urhu%20Kekkonem-p.jpg). :)  (If that image link does not work, go here (http://www.carnercoins.com/shop/urhu-kekkonen-president-1548p.html).)

Christian

Thanks Peter and Christian for your comments, much appreciated information indeed! :)  Heikki Häiväoja seems to be a very busy sculptor, even at an age of 84!

Finland has issued so many beautiful commemorative/collector coins since 1960 that it will take quite some time to 'complete' that collection...

Aditya

Art has become an investment. Real art has now become about every day things. A photo in a gallery will probably be a waste of time. One in a magazine will probably be a great photo.

People like famous people because of the money. They like famous paintings because of the money. Go to a museum with a "famous painting" and people huddle around it trying to find meaning, while all the other paintings are ignored.

Coins could be considered the same. Do people go after commemorative coins because they collect coins? Or because they are beautiful? Or because they think they can make money out of it?

Quote from: augsburger on April 28, 2013, 06:14:16 PM
Do people go after commemorative coins because they collect coins?

Yes, some do.

QuoteOr because they are beautiful?

Yes, some do.

QuoteOr because they think they can make money out of it?

Yes, some do.

;D Lots of reasons why people collect coins. Some want to have a "complete" collection (whatever "complete" actually means), others are attracted by certain designs, and then there are those who buy a coin at the price of "n" and aim at selling it at "n+x".  If one collects Finnish coins only, it is relatively easy to have a complete collection, in terms of types. Don't think they work as investments though ...

Christian

If I like a particular coin, I try to get it. There are some coins which I do not like as such (think of Luxembourg Euro coins) but I have to get them because I want my type collection of euro commemorative coins 'complete'. Investment? No. Coins like these (shown above) have no or little market in India. If I try selling one of the Finnish coin shown above here in India, I doubt if I'll get anything above melt value (which isn't a big amount at current silver rate ;D)..And selling these to foreign collectors who might be interested in them is not a good idea either because they can get them for a much better price from local dealers..

Aditya

Chrisild, I wasn't really talking about coin collectors themselves, just the general person in the street. The sort of people who have whims on hoarding certain coins.

Oh, those people. ;)  By and large I don't think they buy coins - pieces like the ones shown in this topic - as an investment. They may see an ad in a magazine or a TV commercial about some coin, and may like the design and/or the person or institution that the coin is about. Since these pieces cannot be picked up from circulation, they would have to buy them - and I think that somebody who does not actually collect coins would be after a bullion piece, silver or gold, if the "goal" is making money or investing in precious metals. Just my assumption, not sure about it ...

Christian

Just a small query: Were these Finnish collector coins made available for face at the time of issue? Even if they weren't, I don't think I'll stop collecting them. :)

Aditya

Hmm, I think that the earlier silver collector coins, such as 10 Mk Paasikivi, were issued at face. Not sure but if you look at the mintage figures (http://www.suomenrahapaja.fi/eng/commemorative-and-collector-coins/about-commemorative-and-collector-coins/collector-coins) ... some of them had mintages of half a million to a million. And Finland has a population of a little more than five million.

Christian

Quote from: Bimat on April 29, 2013, 05:22:11 PM
Just a small query: Were these Finnish collector coins made available for face at the time of issue? Even if they weren't, I don't think I'll stop collecting them. :)

Aditya

All the silver 10, 25 and 50 markkaa coins were available for face value from banks, and so were the 100 markkaa coins of 1980's and early 1990's.

Quote from: milkshakespeare on May 05, 2013, 05:15:36 PM
All the silver 10, 25 and 50 markkaa coins were available for face value from banks, and so were the 100 markkaa coins of 1980's and early 1990's.

Thanks! :) I just have these two, so quite a big job to be done! ;)

Aditya

Added two more nice pre-euro collector coins to my Finnish collection. :)

50 Markkaa (1981), KM# 59, 20g, 500/1000 Fine Silver (0.3215 Oz ASW), 30 mm, Mintage: 500,000.


Can someone tell me the exact theme of the coin? ;)

Aditya

... And the second one:

50 Markkaa (1982), KM# 60, 23.10 g, 500/1000 Fine Silver (0.3713 Oz ASW), 35 mm, Mintage: 400,000.


Aditya

Quote from: Bimat on July 19, 2013, 03:56:06 PM
Can someone tell me the exact theme of the coin? ;)

Urho Kekkonen was the longest serving president of Finland. This piece commemorates 25 (!) years of presidency.
http://rahapaja.rahapaja1.smilehouse.com/eng/urho-kekkosen-presidenttikauden-25-vuotisjuhlaraha/15546/dp

Christian

Quote from: Bimat on July 19, 2013, 03:56:06 PM
Can someone tell me the exact theme of the coin?

KM says the theme is the 80th birthday of president Kekkonen (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urho_Kekkonen#Later_life). It sounds a bit royal and my take is somewhat more complicated. In 1981, Kekkonen's health deteriorated quickly. He was clearly in his last term and dying. The coin would have been a fitting thank you, delivered during his life.

My idea is reinforced by the reverse. The horses racing towards you through the water are scared. There may be a chariot behind them. Whoever rides it must keep the horses working as a team, or the whole thing will fall apart and the driver may well be killed. The survival of the horses and driver depend on the skill of the driver.

It seems to me that this is a metaphor for Finland's position and political situation. It is constantly threatened by the Soviet Union, regarded as third rate by NATO countries and in danger of becoming a cold war victim. The invisible rider is Kekkonen. He must keep the government and the opposition working as a team or the country will collapse. The scene is an apologetic view of Kekkonen's strong-arm tactics, his controversial amassing of power for the president and his monopolistic view of Finland's foreign policy. At the same time, it honours Kekkonen's achievement in steering Finland through a very difficult period (Kekkonen saw and understood what happened in Hungary in 1956 and in Czechoslovakia in 1968) and acknowledges his success in keeping Finland independent.

Few coins achieve such a depth of meaning.

Peter

Quote from: chrisild on July 19, 2013, 04:12:18 PM
Urho Kekkonen was the longest serving president of Finland. This piece commemorates 25 (!) years of presidency.
http://rahapaja.rahapaja1.smilehouse.com/eng/urho-kekkosen-presidenttikauden-25-vuotisjuhlaraha/15546/dp

Thanks Christian! I was pretty sure that this coin has something to do with the person whose portrait appears on the obverse but was bit confused by the reverse design. What is the significance of those horses was my question. Now since Peter has explained it quite well, I guess I have the answers to my questions. Thanks both! :)

As far as the second coin is concerned, we all know how obsessed Finns are about Ice Hockey. ;)

Aditya

What I like about the second piece is how the sculptor has achieved depth in a flat object and overcome the round edge. Your brains tell you the puck is in front of the player, but your eyes see them all at the same level. Why? Your brain interprets the body position in three dimension from the right elbow to the left hand. Once you accept that third dimension, seeing the puck in depth is natural.

With the deliberate vagueness of the design (I bet you saw the player's nose) and the body position the artist even manages to convey a sense of speed and action. This is so much better than a map, a logo or a coat of arms...

Peter