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About the Author
—
Steven Heller is the
cofounder and the cochair of the MFA Designer as
Author
program at the School of Visual Arts. He writes the Visuals
column
for the New York Times Book
Review and the Graphic
Content
blog for T-Style; is editor
of AIGA
Voice; and is a contributor to Design
Observer. He is the author, coauthor, and/or editor of more
than 120 books on design and popular culture, including the forthcoming
New Ornamental Type (Thames
and Hudson). More information can be found at his homepage.
See
all Daily Heller posts here.
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Penny Dreadful
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by Steven Heller
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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 as 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?
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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Reader Comments
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I also agree with your comments. To me the coin looks like a souvenir you would get at a carnival. Looking at all the designs up for review, my choice would be LP-01. This design is timeless and rich in detail. It's too bad that the designing of the U.S. coin isn't open to the public. Or better yet, maybe they should let the public vote on the proposed designs! Sorry Lincoln.
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By
lilo7
July 09, 2010
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As a southerner that is a designer, I'm a quite offended by your "Confederate" comment. Really was that necessary? Did you not think you would offend people by saying that? I would think you would show a little more class than that, but that is just me.
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By
itscarni
July 09, 2010
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I have to agree with your comments somewhat, although the design of the shield with the scroll across it seems to fit the style of the Lincoln era. To me the design feels not quite complete. The wording "One Cent" on the scroll seems out of place for what I think should be a more compelling statement. The scroll seems to beg to have a rallying statement so perhaps the "E Pluribus Unum" would be more appropriate (similar to LP-14) given its historical meaning. In fact I prefer the design LP-14, although I think the large 1¢ seems to lack the dignity that wording One Cent, spelled out, seems to have. Anyway, that's my two cents on the one cent.
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By
MarkTaylor
July 09, 2010
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I don't care for the design either. It does appear to be from a toy store to me as well. I also don't see any subtlety to it like the old design. I remember how excited I was to learn that if you looked REALLY closely, you could see Lincoln in the memorial. That said, why bring the Confederacy into this? It weakens your argument. It feels like another New Yorker picking on Southerners. Beware of sounding elitist. (And I'm not an old Southerner and all that, but I was taken aback by the reference.)
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By
cuprado
July 09, 2010
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If that's the best they could come up with, I'd hate to see what the other choices looked like. The "other designs" you're showing us from previous pennies are all far superior to this one, which has neither the grace nor the authority suitable to currency.
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JRM
July 09, 2010
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It feels unfinished... concept draft. I agree w/cuprado's comments (play money) as well as with msweldon (disconnect btn. front and back).
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By
josephine
July 09, 2010
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I think it's great! Given what a penny is worth, why not make it a cartoon? I love the lack of pretense. True, the back doesn't harmonize with the front now, but perhaps it's time to rethink the front and elevate Lincoln to another currency. On the other hand, Lincoln does convey the "humble beginnings" symbolism that is appropriate to the penny, the least common denominator of all our currency. ... Well, maybe "humble beginnings" and "cartoon" say America like nothing else.
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By
msweldon
July 09, 2010
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