Britannia returns to circulating coins

[Rob]

No, I'm a Royalist long before I will ever be a republican.

The comment relates to how little detail there is per unit surface area on today's coins compared to times gone by. Greek, Roman, Celtic, or even Saxon coins had a very good level of detail by comparison, but clearly were not subject to the far more rigorous operating conditions demanded today. The design must reflect the functionality of the die, i.e. first and foremost it is just a tool.

John Bergdahl, one of the current mint engravers, gave an enlightening talk at the BNS meeting in Manchester a couple years ago where he discussed the question of allowable relief in the design. It's remarkably little, even when magnified prior to reduction, we are talking typically of less than a mm relief (0.7mm was a figure mentioned for one design in question). There isn't much room for error and given the portraits of Tudor monarchs are in similarly low relief, I think it is probably better to applaud their efforts whatever technological period we are in. 500 years ago, regular die failure was part of the expectation, whereas today, die longevity is considerably more important given the capital cost of the equipment involved. It needs to be working to earn its keep.

Scott. First time I saw the boar's head, I thought it was a woman with her possessions over her shoulder too. It's amazing how conditioned we are! The traveller in childrens' books is always depicted in this manner, but how many books contain a reference to a wild boar? Not many I suspect.

Edited February 28, 2015 by Rob

[damian1986]

No, I'm a Royalist long before I will ever be a republican.

The comment relates to how little detail there is per unit surface area on today's coins compared to times gone by. Greek, Roman, Celtic, or even Saxon coins had a very good level of detail by comparison, but clearly were not subject to the far more rigorous operating conditions demanded today. The design must reflect the functionality of the die, i.e. first and foremost it is just a tool.

John Bergdahl, one of the current mint engravers, gave an enlightening talk at the BNS meeting in Manchester a couple years ago where he discussed the question of allowable relief in the design. It's remarkably little, even when magnified prior to reduction, we are talking typically of less than a mm relief (0.7mm was a figure mentioned for one design in question). There isn't much room for error and given the portraits of Tudor monarchs are in similarly low relief, I think it is probably better to applaud their efforts whatever technological period we are in. 500 years ago, regular die failure was part of the expectation, whereas today, die longevity is considerably more important given the capital cost of the equipment involved. It needs to be working to earn its keep.

Scott. First time I saw the boar's head, I thought it was a woman with her possessions over her shoulder too. It's amazing how conditioned we are! The traveller in childrens' books is always depicted in this manner, but how many books contain a reference to a wild boar? Not many I suspect.

Useful to know thank you.

Much better than Genesis.

[Coinery]

Wurzels suit you then, Sir?

[damian1986]

Wurzels suit you then, Sir?

To think that Invisible Touch was current when I left the womb.

No doesn't bear thinking about...

Pink Floyd

[Coinery]

Oh, yeah, now we're talking!

[scottishmoney]

I'd really like a design with Britannia stoshing her trident into a terrorist.

[Nordle11]

Hello sir.

You make a good point, and yes the design is muuuch better before they get it on a coin. The end result is really lacking, however

[Nordle11]

Meh, my quotes don't work

That was @ Damien, I've not gone mental, yet.

[Peter]

I'd really like a design with Britannia stoshing her trident into a terrorist.

great to see you.....999 posts.

[Sylvester]

It could have been better. I personally like the old 50p design, that is probably my favourite Britannia design (although the Edward VII florins were quite something).