NL 2014: New Circulation Coins

[chrisild]

Some of the original sketches made by Erwin Olaf

Now that one I like.

Christian

[Figleaf]

All he needs is a pointy head and some wild earrings

Peter

[chrisild]

You can now buy a book that shows the "genesis" of Willem Alexander's portraits:
http://www.knm.nl/De-Muntenreeks-van-Koning-Willem-Alexander/nl/product/4563/

Christian

[chrisild]

Typography on coins can be a sore subject. The font used for the circulation coins with Willem Alexander, for example, is Days, "designed in 2008 by Ivan Gladkikh and Alexandr Kalachëv under the art direction of Alexey Maslov, and made freely available via Google Web Fonts". Came across this on a German design/fonts page recently, but the discussion in the Netherlands was actually a little while ago. And no, not everybody was happy - see here.

The quote above is from that page, but you can also find comments like this one: "a great photographer but a lousy typographer" (about the designer Erwin Olaf) or "What? They couldn't afford €29 to buy a single weight of anything?"

Also (see below), where on the coins do you see "large sizes" and "capitalised headlines"?
http://www.behance.net/gallery/Days-typeface/190108 (Days)
http://www.google.com/fonts/specimen/Days+One (Days One, by Jovanny Lemonad)

Christian

[Figleaf]

And typographers seem to be sore losers. It's childish to criticise a font because it's free.

I'll withhold comment on the font for lack of knowledge. As far as I am concerned, if it's legible, it's fine. For me, the issue is rather in the placement of the text ribbons. It's neither innovative nor contributing something to the design.

Peter

[chrisild]

Not that you really have to be able to "easily" read the default text of a circulation coin. Country name (and name of the king etc. where applicable), that's about it.   In my opinion, a mix of uppercase and lowercase characters does - usually - not look good on a coin. In many if not most cases the inscription is "curved" and along the rim. And ALL CAPS offers some balance in such cases as all characters have the same height.

Now an uppercase-lowercase mix along a horizontal (or, as in this case, vertical) line is not that bad in my opinion. And the "free font" issue ... meh. What I found funny though is the emphasis on "large sizes" and "headlines" in the attached image while the coins are pretty much the contrary. Ah well, we will get used to this ...

(Edit) Today I got my very first Willem-Alexander in change! A 50 cent coin dated, you guessed it, 2014.

Christian

[eurocoin]

The designer of the standard euro coin series of the Netherlands that was introduced in 2014, photographer Erwin Olaf, died earlier today.

Statement of the Royal Dutch Mint:

"It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to internationally celebrated photographer Erwin Olaf, who was also the designer of a striking Dutch euro coin. His pioneering work and unconventional vision influenced both the world of photography and numismatics. Our thoughts are with his family and friends."