Styles of numismatic design

[eurocoin]

I much prefer the high realistic portraits and am very unhappy that we no longer have them on the Dutch circulation coins, and will likely never have them anymore either.

[chrisild]

Both concepts have their pros and cons, I think. Of course a portrait should be recognizable. But a stylized and almost abstract portrait you can introduce once, and then keep it until the head of state dies or abdicates - no need to adapt it.

We sometimes have similar discussions in Germany with regard to the eagle on our coins. Sure, that is a heraldic bird anyway and not a realistic depiction. But on quite a few pieces, mostly collector coins, you can tell there is an eagle only because you know that "this should be an eagle".

Another "style" on coins I have observed ... don't even know whether this counts as a style. But I believe landmarks and landscapes are more common on circulation coins these days than they used to be, say, 100 years ago.

Christian

[<k>]

I believe landmarks and landscapes are more common on circulation coins these days than they used to be, say, 100 years ago.

That's a theme rather than a style. But yes, the end of the First World War marked a break in style. Emperors, heraldry, sprigs and wreaths - these became less common on coins.

Which are your favourites among landscape / landmark designs on coins? Do you notice any radically different numismatic styles applied to them?

[Figleaf]

Interesting by the way that the "Je maintiendrai" motto from the Luxembourg coronation coin also appears in the Dutch CoA ...

An accident of history. It started out as the motto of the Chalon family, princes of Orange: Je maintiendrai Chalon. When William, count of Nassau inherited the princedom of Orange, a more important title, he took the motto Je maintiendrai Nassau. In time, the last word was dropped. The Orange family eventually became king of the Netherlands as well as grand duke of Luxembourg. When William III died, the male line of the House of Orange-Nassau became extinct. Due to different regimes of inheritance, the crown of the Netherlands went to his daughter, Wilhelmina of Orange-Nassau, but the crown of Luxembourg continued in the male line, devolving upon the head of the only surviving branch of the House of Nassau, ex-Duke Adolf of Nassau-Weilburg. Both carried on with the Nassau motto.

Peter

[chrisild]

Interesting story, Peter! And <k>, there are two series that come to mind, both introduced in the mid-1990s: Slovakia (OK, that was a new or "re-born" country, thus the need to have new coins anyway) but also Norway, with the 1, 5, 10 and 20 kr coins first issued at that time. See here, scroll down a little for the coins ...

Christian

[<k>]

Yes, I love the old Slovakian set. Another beautiful set DESTROYED by the advent of the euro.

The Norwegian set passed me by. I knew of it but found it too minimalist.

My own favourite is the Jersey set, but then you would expect me to adore Royal Mint 'overseas' style. I say 'overseas', because the Royal Mint does 'thematic' sets for overseas but only heraldic for the UK.

See also: Circulation sets depicting buildings.

[chrisild]

Yes, I love the old Slovakian set. Another beautiful set DESTROYED by the advent of the euro.

Yeah, those terrible euro dictators decided that every member of the currency union can have up to eight denomination specific designs but Slovakia will be forced to have only three ho-hum designs.

Algeria's circulation coin set is interesting partly because of the animals. But they also have cool designs for the figures indicating the face values, such as this quarter ...

Christian

[<k>]

'Many objects' - is that a style or a theme?

[<k>]

Micro-lettering and laser marks give a coin a very modern look.

[<k>]

FOCUS



Seychelles: coins of 1982.

Here we see designs that focus in tightly on their subjects.

They are shown with little or no background.

They have tight and narrow focus.




Mauritius: 5 rupees since 1987.  Seychelles: 5 rupees of 1972.

Here we have pictorial designs with wider scope.

They show a lot of background detail.

Often the designs cover a wide physical area.

I call these scenic designs.




UK, 2 pounds, 1997.

Here we have an unobtrusive design.

It is wide and full, with lots of detail.

Yet one's eye is not strongly drawn to any particular detail.

Thus it differs from both the tightly focused and scenic designs.




Falkland Islands, 2 pounds, 2004.

The Falkland 2 pound design is similar.

It has lots of detail, but quite evenly spread.


The design is unobtrusive and lacks a central focus.

Clearly it was meant to be so.

This differentiates it from the lower denomination coins.

[<k>]

FOCUSED VERSUS SCENIC



Botswana, 1 pula, 1991.



Botswana, 1 pula, 2013.




Mozambique, 10,000 meticais, 2003.




Mozambique, 1 centavo, 2006.

The Irish pound coin of 1990. 'Punt' is Irish for 'pound'.



Ireland, 5 ecu, 1990.

The ecu stood for 'European Currency Unit'.




Latvia, 2 lati, 1992.




Latvia, 2 lati, 1999.




UK, 2 pounds, 2015.

The reverse design of the 2015 circulation 2 pound coin was the work of Anthony Dufort.




UK, silver 2 pounds, 2015.

The silver Britannia collector coin of 2015 also shows his version of Britannia.

Sometimes focused designs are reused, but they are given a background.

A focused design then becomes a scenic design.

RELATED TOPICS

Numismatic heritage: circulation designs that have been reused

Pictorial coin designs with added or deleted details