My following thought went more like, "Wow, thats rather ugly."
The new look is supposed to contain symbolism that is important to Americans, that being the 13 stripes (representing the colonies) on what appears to be the Captain America shield with a banner signifying "a single union in support of the federal government" rolled out across it. Being an art major, design and presentation strike me with the most force. Maybe its just my love of architecture. Even still, I truly relish the detail used to pack our currency with symbols and intricate patterns. Being able to find the tiny Lincoln in the little copper colored monument was my favorite part of the coin. William Bostwick said it best, "Gone is the wonderful level of detail. The new design is simplistic and fake-looking. The penny is valueless enough as it is, and a one-dimensional design like this only makes matters worse. With the humble penny now a mess, I'm hoarding my $1 bills."
Anyhoo, I know there are more important things to worry about than the artistic integrity of one side on a coin whose relevance in our economy is constantly in question. However, I felt that in some way the (now old) penny needed to be honored and given at least a pseudo-proper send-off. Comparatively, it was quite a classy coin.
Lincoln Memorial Penny: You served us well from 1959-2008
There are several other new penny designs already minted; all unimpressive to my sense of aesthetic as well. One pictures Young Abe Lincoln sitting on a log reading a book, which, although a cool concept, is rendered with too much info and feels rushed. Another depicts Abe standing in front of the early version of our United States Capitol Building ? It is also pretty random and vague.
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame it costs more to make this crap than they are worth. Maybe better to melt them down and make some cool jewelry.
Yes, those were distributed last year in 4 parts, but I'd take those any day over this craptastic piece of work.
ReplyDeleteIt is totally a shame. I was thinking the same thing about making things with them. So many people are using pennies for everything but currency lol. One guy I read about goes and buys rolls of pennies and then punches holes in them with a drill press to use as washers because they are cheaper than a pack of already-made ones.
If only I had a drill press for metal....I'd make all kinds of things.