The government is penny pinching. I mean, pinching the life out of the once noble copper coin. If you haven’t seen it already, the back of the 2010 penny looks like it came from a novelty store. It gives penny dreadful new meaning.
From a field of 18 designs prepared by the United States Mint, the best they could come up with for the reverse side of President Lincoln’s coin was a union shield that is so tacky it might have been drawn by a Confederate? From the press release:
The union shield features thirteen vertical stripes joined by a single horizontal bar at the top with the inscription ‘E Pluribus Unum’ (Out of many, one). This symbolizes the original thirteen states joined together in a single compact union. A scroll appears across the shield with the denomination ‘One Cent’ and ‘United States of America’ appears above the shield.
Designed by US Mint Artistic Infusion Program Associate Designer Lyndall Bass and engraved by US Mint Sculptor-Engraver Joseph Menna, it is supposed to to represent Abe Lincoln’s preservation of the United States. And that’s a great tribute, but does it have to look so counterfeit? We all know a penny won’t buy anything, but just for old time’s sake, some of the other designs (below) showed a little more respect for our storied currency. The 2010 Lincoln Cent design selection was made by the United States Secretary of the Treasury after review and input from the United States Mint, Commission of Fine Arts, and the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee. Hey brother, can you spare design?
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I don’t see how a simplified design is somehow disrespectful of the currency. I think the design is what it needs to be: An simple, understated depiction of the union Lincoln-era America fought to preserve worthy of the 1¢ coin, the smallest denomination (thus poetically a building block) of the US dollar.
Most of the rejected designs were excessive. Of the three you selected here as (presumably) better options, the first one is the most vomit-inducing (is that Arial I see?); with the Helvetica-bearing (!?!) dead & disfigured eagle design a very close second. The best of the three is the second one, but I believe the final design accomplishes a similar message much more effectively.
you can almost visualize the penny dropping in whatever committee pooped out this copper pearl. the third, with the eagle, is quite elegant though. i’m pinching myself for actually agreeing with Optima— the worst typeface ever scribed.
I appreciate Mr. Heller sharing his thoughts, but overall, I disagree with Heller’s critique of the design; it reminds me of the arcade-kitsch quality of old wheat pennies. If there’s a coin in our system that can exercise the “novelty aesthetic” that thrives elsewhere in Americana, then let loose on the penny. Besides, I dig the conflict in the approved design between lofty ideals and rudimentary execution…reminds me of 1900s hand-worked declarations of patriotism from folks that weren’t classically trained artists…they were just really proud of their country.
I will echo the sentiments regarding the tragedy of typography on their designs. The Artist Infusion Program is a fantastic initiative to continually pump new life into currency artistry, and yet the team appears to have been only granted licenses for three or four typefaces. Many beautiful engravings over the last few years have been watered down by poor typography.
Optima? Helvetica and Arial? Why are they even using fonts if they’re not going to bother buying licenses for good ones (or for that matter, asking the foundries for them, I’m pretty sure they’d fork over a free license to have their work on currency!) Beyond that, it would be great to see some custom lettering…
I like the whole “shield” idea on the back of the Lincoln cent because he did help save/preserve our union, and since the 13stripes represent the 13 united colonies, this provides another historically inclined detail in our new 2010 cent. But, Alfonso is right the penney needs more detail it’s just too plain.
The Capital would have been a better pick.
If they wished to go with the “olde fashioned” look of all U.S. currency and keep it in the 1860s, the eagle with the ribbon would have been perfect!
The one they chose reminds me of early Captain America. That would have made much more sense during the previous administration… http://bwhancock.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=565379
But the big questions remains: why is the U.S. Mint so incredibly unhip when it comes to good currency design? I miss Oxenaar’s work… Especially the sunflower and lighthouse.
http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2007/february/the-money-maker
Joseph,
The U.S. Mint has potential for great currency design…it may be more a question of why aren’t they exploiting it? I agree, Oxenaar’s work is handsome, but you can’t deny the beauty of Saint-Gaudens’ Liberty which was updated in 2009:
http://usmint.gov/mint_programs/ultrahigh/
How can a group that produces work like this think Arial is okay?
You’ve misread me, Ruta. I do not think the penny is “too plain” at all; I think it’s just right.
Well, Mr. Alfonso, you did say the first one looked “vomit-inducing.” But, I thought you were talking about the one pictured at the top of the page, however, now I totally get the whole “Arial” thing. =D The 2nd one does look good! The shield prevails the 13united colonies, but we all pledge to the flag.. and what are our 13stripes without our 50united stars?;) Our currency speaks for all the U.S. although you can’t please everyone =)
I’m not a designer and therefore will not argue fonts and the hierarchy. In general I really like the feel of the new design. I’m always an advocate for cleaner designs and appreciate the confidence to not over design something.
It’s interesting how all the currency redesigns are getting more and more graphic and simplified. I do prefer the ornate, layered currency vs. the new Helvetica-ized currency. Regarding the penny, I like LP-16 (the 3rd comp) as it feels more American by using classic iconography. Have we seen the 13 stripe shield icon before? Do we need a new graphic to represent the original states? I’m not sure.
While I generally prefer simplicity in design, in this case I like the classic eagle and ribbons nicely fitted into the circle. Either way, my pennies are still going into that big jar downstairs.
Call me old fashioned, but I liked the old “wheat” design. It was clean, crisp and simple–art deco ahead of its time. The one thing going for this design is it works in the small space available. The wheat design was replaced in 1959 by the Lincoln Memorial, which somehow didn’t come off well in such a small space. A design that looks great when done in a one or two foot clay model won’t necessarily translate to the size of a small coin.
love it – on very first look I said “i want one!” – any other comments about design are bullshit because you have no idea of the timeline or approval process. Looks FANTASTIC. Arial? – who the fuck cares …