The image of the coin that appears in the artist rendering (previous page) is quite different than what the circulating coin actually looks like! The artist rendering shows Washington as an almost kindly looking figure, whereas the actual coin makes Washington look a bit dull and quite stern. The nuances between the original art and the coin itself are remarkable, and drive home very well the point that even subtle changes in a given portrait or design can have significant ramifications to the final product.
When coin art is actually created, (meaning the art that becomes the actual coin die that the coins are struck from,) the process usually begins with a written statement describing what the artist should create and convey in his proposed design. The artist, or several competing artists, prepare conceptual drawings according to this written description. Once one of the artist conceptions is selected, a sculpture of the coin design is made in relief in plastilene or another sculpting material. This sculpture is usually twelve to fifteen inches or more in diameter, because it is easier to work at this larger scale than the tiny scale of the actual coin size. Sometimes the same artist who made the coin design art does the sculpting (or engraving, as it is sometimes called,) but often the designer and the sculptor are two different artists.
Once the coin sculpture has been created, a copy is made in expoxy (for stability purposes) and then reduced to coin size via a machine based on the Janvier reducing lathe or similar pantograph technology. These machines work by tracing the large sculpture with two styluses which are linked to each other. As the one stylus traces the larger (original) sculpture, the smaller stylus actually engraves the "master tool," or master hub (die.) This master hub is the die from which all working hubs and dies will be made, and eventually all coins are struck.
A lot of technology and careful planning goes into the making of a successful coin die, because if the design is unbalanced (from the perspective of obverse and reverse,) the coin dies will wear down too quickly, or break under the pressure of high-speed striking.
This Washington Dollar obverse was designed and sculpted by U.S. Mint sculptor-engraver Joseph Menna.
When coin art is actually created, (meaning the art that becomes the actual coin die that the coins are struck from,) the process usually begins with a written statement describing what the artist should create and convey in his proposed design. The artist, or several competing artists, prepare conceptual drawings according to this written description. Once one of the artist conceptions is selected, a sculpture of the coin design is made in relief in plastilene or another sculpting material. This sculpture is usually twelve to fifteen inches or more in diameter, because it is easier to work at this larger scale than the tiny scale of the actual coin size. Sometimes the same artist who made the coin design art does the sculpting (or engraving, as it is sometimes called,) but often the designer and the sculptor are two different artists.
Once the coin sculpture has been created, a copy is made in expoxy (for stability purposes) and then reduced to coin size via a machine based on the Janvier reducing lathe or similar pantograph technology. These machines work by tracing the large sculpture with two styluses which are linked to each other. As the one stylus traces the larger (original) sculpture, the smaller stylus actually engraves the "master tool," or master hub (die.) This master hub is the die from which all working hubs and dies will be made, and eventually all coins are struck.
A lot of technology and careful planning goes into the making of a successful coin die, because if the design is unbalanced (from the perspective of obverse and reverse,) the coin dies will wear down too quickly, or break under the pressure of high-speed striking.
This Washington Dollar obverse was designed and sculpted by U.S. Mint sculptor-engraver Joseph Menna.