My mind is not easily boggled, but...
Mr. Jaggers
them sent me this link:
http://www.archive.org:80/details/americanjournalo11ameruoft
You may not be interested in the subject matter, but once you get to that
site, click on "flip book" over to the left, then use the arrows to turn the
pages. Somebody had to spend a lot of time at low or no wages to make that
happen.
The Internet never ceases to bring forth new wonders.
James
mazorj
"Mr. Jaggers" <lugburzman[at]yahoo[dot]com> wrote in message
news:gpj56...@enews5.newsguy.com...
Your loyal correspondent, having downloaded forthwith the
referenced journal in text form, humbly offers for your
attention the following items that were of particular
interest. oly, see No. 4. All, see the commentary at the
end on numismatic esthetics in 1877:
1. The mildly charming story of the lost and returned silver
quarter-dollar piece. The heretofore inexplicable practice
of reporting the felicitous reuniting with their owners of
various precious articles - not to mention various pet
animals - appears to be an irresistible and time-honored
staple of journals and journalism.
2. Various indications that the composition and proceedings
of coin clubs has changed little since 1877.
3. The peeved admission that the French commemorative issue
for America's first bicentennial is of better quality than
the artistry of our domestic offerings.
4. N.B. for oly - search for the term "real money". You
will find particular delight upon seeing your very own pet
screeds anent the sensory pleasure of silver specie and the
repulsiveness of fiat money reproduced there 132 years ahead
of your time. If I had the stamps, I would increase my
holdings in said specie.
As yet I have only skimmed less than ten per centum of the
contents of this amazing chronicle, but cannot resist
closing with a lengthy but instructive declamation in the
artistic merit (or perceived lack thereof) of U.S. coinage
in the year 1877. Any relation to similar screeds in this
newsgroup must certainly be coincidental, because the
following was written during what most would consider part
of the "golden age" of U.S. coin design. Remember, this is
in 1877:
"Why is it that we have the ugliest money of all civilized
nations?
For such undoubtedly our silver coinage is. The design is
poor,
commonplace, tasteless, characterless, and the execution is
like
thereunto. Our silver coins do not even look like money.
They
have rather the appearance of tokens or mean medals. One
reason of this is that the design is so inartistic and so
insignificant.
That young woman sitting on nothing in particular, wearing
nothing
to speak of, looking over her shoulder at nothing
imaginable, and
bearing in her left hand something that looks like a
broomstick
with a woolen nightcap on it what is she doing there? What
is the
meaning of her? She is Liberty, we are told, and there is a
label to
that effect across a shield at her right, her need of which
is not in
any way manifest. But she might as well be anything else as
Liberty;
and at the first glance she looks much more like a spinster
in her
smock, with a distaff in her hand.
"Such a figure has no proper place upon a coin. On the
reverse
the eagle has the contrary fault of being too natural, too
much like
a real eagle. In numismatic art animals have conventional
forms,
which are far more pleasing and effective than the most
careful and
exact imitation of nature can be. Compare one of our silver
coins
with those of Great Britain, France or Germany, and see how
mean,
slight, flimsy, inartistic and unmoneylike it looks. Our
coins of forty
or fifty years ago were much better in every respect, and
looked
much more like money, the reason being that they bore a head
of
Liberty which was bold, clear, and well defined in
comparison with
the weak thing that the Mint has given us for the last
thirty years
or so. The eagle too, although erring on the side of
naturalness,
was more suited in design to coinage.
"But still better were the coins struck at the end of the
last century
and the beginning of this one. The eagle was a real heraldic
eagle,
the head of Liberty had more character, and the whole work
was
bolder and better in every way. But even they had the great
defect
of being without significance in design. What is a head of
Liberty?
What distinctive character can be given to a head upon a
coin which
will make it more like Liberty than anything else? ...
"The coins of the French republic bear a head supposed to
typify the
Republic. It has in its features and in its decorations some
character and
significance, and it is bold and stands out in good relief,
as it should.
But we can do better than to use such mere abstractions, no
matter
how bold the design, how high the relief, or how fine the
workmanship.
From this utterly unmeaning and uninteresting condition our
coin might
be lifted by the substitution, in place of this so-called
Liberty, of two
heads, the appropriateness of which upon our coins and
indeed almost
their right to be there would be felt by every American, and
not only so,
but recognized by the whole world. It is hardly necessary to
say that the
heads we mean are those of Washington and Franklin.
"And fortune, nature, Providence, what you will so ordered
it that neither
of them left descendants of their own name to be elevated by
the
appearance of their ancestors' head upon a nation's coinage.
There are no
Washingtons, no Franklins to say, 'This is the image and
superscription of
the head of our family.' All democratic fear of the
elevation and glorification
of individuals or of families is therefore to be set aside
at once as having no
occasion. It so happens also that these two men represent
the two elements
of our population, the two great divisions of our country.
One was a Virginia
planter; the other, a Philadelphia printer, born in Boston,
grew from a printer
into a philosopher and a statesman. The proper place for
Washington's head
would be upon the gold pieces; for no one would dispute the
appropriateness of placing that of the author of ' Poor
Richard's Almanac,' and
of the adage, 'A penny saved is a penny earned,' upon the
silver coins
representing fractional parts of a dollar, and upon the
cents. Thus our gold
and silver coins would be distinguished from each other in
design, not as they
now are by the mere difference between a meaningless head
and a meaningless
sitting figure, but by two noble portrait busts of which an
American might be
prouder than any European ever was of the effigy of king or
kaiser.
"With this change and with a return to the old breadth of
piece, and the heraldic
eagle used in the beginning of this century (the two
examples now before us
are dated 1803 and 1805), we should have a coinage which
instead of being as
now the meanest in appearance and most insignificant of all
that is known, would
be the most beautiful and the most fraught with associations
of historic interest
and national pride. We commend the subject to the attention
of the House, and
hope that some member may be found who will take it up and
bring it before
the people."
Plus ça change, plus ça le même chose.
mazorj
commentary in more readable form:
"mazorj" <maz...@erols.com> wrote in message
news:FUavl.263$6%.130@nwrddc01.gnilink.net...
...
> Remember, this is in 1877:
>
"Why is it that we have the ugliest money of all civilized
nations? For such undoubtedly our silver coinage is. The
design is poor,commonplace, tasteless, characterless,
Mr. Jaggers
Oh Mon Dieu, j'ai créé un monstre!
Jacques
mazorj
"Mr. Jaggers" <lugburzman[at]yahoo[dot]com> wrote in message
> mazorj wrote:
...
>> incomparison with
>> is therefore to be set asideat once as having no
The parallels are startling, n'est pas? Even down to the
part about appealing to the House of Representatives.
Mr. Jaggers
Yeah, I've never been that crazy about the seated lib stuff myself. I say,
bring back the draped bust/large eagle design! Think I'll write my
congressperson immediately.
James
mazorj
"Mr. Jaggers" <lugburzman[at]yahoo[dot]com> wrote in message
...
> Yeah, I've never been that crazy about the seated lib stuff myself.
> I say, bring back the draped bust/large eagle design!
Personally, I'd go the other way: a large bust/draped eagle motif.
Sans bustier, of course, with Sophia Loren doing the sitting for Miss
Liberty. And a reprise of the partially undraped standing Liberty
quarter - in ultra-high relief - would be far more interesting than
the planned parks series.
While we're at it, throw in a high-relief Mae West commem. Show a
lifelike bust depiction on the obverse, with the reverse inscription
"Is that a roll of quarters in your pocket or are you just happy to
see me?".
Mr. Jaggers
...quickly...taking...blood...pressure...medicine...
...James...
Mike Marotta
wrote:
> I've been having an email exchange with some fellow numismatists, and one of
> them sent me this link:
> http://www.archive.org:80/details/americanjournalo11ameruoft
Archive.Org is a wonderful warehouse of stored content. The Wayback
Machine is an inventory of old webpages. I have been enjoying their
old movies, especially the educational films and training films. I
found the books and I liked the turning pages, but I did not see the
AJN, so thanks! for the link to that. Archive.Org is a 501c3, so, as
I benefit from using it, I sent them $25.
Mike M.
MIchael E. Marotta
"You pays yer money and you makes yer choices."
Jud
mazorj wrote:
> While we're at it, throw in a high-relief Mae West commem. Show a
> lifelike bust depiction on the obverse, with the reverse inscription
> "Is that a roll of quarters in your pocket or are you just happy to
> see me?".
Won't happen, for the reason that they won't stack well. 8-)
Mr. Jaggers
When I saw them they were quite well-stacked.
James the Lecher
Jud
Mr. Jaggers wrote:
> When I saw them they were quite well-stacked.
>
> James the Lecher
::::::::: *Rim Shot* 8-)
PC
*fell asleep, woke up, and trimmed some text*
> be the most beautiful and the most fraught with associations
> of historic interest
> and national pride. We commend the subject to the attention
> of the House, and
> hope that some member may be found who will take it up and
> bring it before
> the people."
>
> Plus ça change, plus ça le même chose.
Conclusion: Oly is a tired, old blowhard.