United States coins have always featured protraits from the side. The new 2006 Jefferson nickel will be the first to have a front-facing portrait.
Why have all the previous coins had profiles for the portraits? Here’s some thoughts:
A) Coins are flat.
Doing a side portrait reinforces the nature of the coin’s flatness. A frontal portrait adds more depth and contrasts the flatness of a coin.
B) Coins are not flat.
Since coins have a slight 3d effect to them, perhaps coin designers found it too odd to portray a full 3d object. Like a person’s nose would appear smushed.
C) Side portraits are more serious.
Coins are serious business.
Do you have any thoughts why coins have always featured side portraits? Leave them in the comments below.
I know that profiles are easier to draw than 3/4 or full-face portraits. I don’t know if that has anything to do with it or not
Good idea, Tom! Let’s make that a point D. D) Coins are cheap. It’s easier to draw a profile than a 3/4 or full-face portrait, so the U.S. Mint cheaps out for the denominations that are worth less.
E) as coins age and get used, the embossed subject matter gets worn down. Having a profile potrait assures that the essence of the figure is always maintained. I wonder what some of the 2006 nickels will look like in 50 years. It may end up looking like a portrait of a qtip.
I think it’s a combination of tom on oct and unlikelymoose. Additionally, a 3/4 pose is not as striking and powerful as a full-on profile. An angled view gives humanity to the individual on the coin. It is not the humanity, however, of the individual that is of import – the leaders on the coins were chosen not for their personal lives. Benjamin Franklin would have never been on the half dollar of that was the case. Instead, the individuals represent the power, dignity, and respect of their roles in American history. And there is no more striking a method in doing so than to portray the individual in sillohuette.
I was wondering if you knew the diffrence between new adn old american coins. Diffrent, i mean by weight, size, what its amde out of, etc.
I have a question as to the significance of right or left facing profiles. I understood it to mean that in one case the subject was alive at the time of minting in the other of course, he or she would have been dead. Can anyone confirm this?