Designing US
The
designing of an American coin starts with a legislation. The Congress will
provide details such as specifications on the look of the coin, the
corresponding denominations and the appropriate metal. With this process in
place, it is clear that
After the
legislation, the creative work will begin. The appointed artists will make
design narratives as well as renderings. They will also work closely on
historical graphic and design verification in order to make sure that their
designs are faithful to historical accounts. These designs will receive
feedback and will go back and forth to the coinage committees and other
interested parties. In the end, the Secretary of Treasury will approve the
final design.
It is
important to remember that designs cannot be rendered by just any artist. Coin
production has a lot of very technical aspects that not a lot of designers can
appreciate and understand. For example, the artist has to design in such a way
that there will be sufficient metal flow on both designs. He has to remember
that his design must translate well to both sides of the coin as well as to the
characteristic of the metal. However, the US Mint gives other talented artists
the chance to design through a contest called, Artistic Infusion Program.
More
specifically, the US Mint, the body responsible for creating coins, will
initiate communication with the governor of a state. After appropriate
information has been exchanged, the state will come up with 3-5 concepts, to be
explained and submitted in narrative form.
When the
Mint receives the concepts, it will contact its pool of artists who will then
create art that interprets or illustrates the specification of the narratives.
After feedback and verification is over, the Citizen’s Coinage Advisory
Committee and the Commission of Fine Arts will review the designs.
