My coins arrived the other day. Lovely aren't they?
Great graphic design if you ask me. It's engaging, it's fun, it will entertain your Grandad as much as your 5 year old nephew, as the designer says, "It's easy to imagine the coins pushed around a school classroom table or fumbled around with on a bar - being pieced together as a jigsaw and just having fun with them." It's practical, it's relevant and it's appropriate. It's different, it's very now and yet it won't date. It's brilliant. Literally.
I've only met one person who doesn't like them so far.
The designer, Matt Dent is one of the speakers at Interesting 2008, that'll be good.
Who didn't like them? And why? Most unbritish.
Posted by: Daniel | May 29, 2008 at 11:36
Brilliant - I really really like them. I think coins are a fantastic canvas to use for design- they are like a fetishistic object - they're good to hold, flick, spin etc etc - and so rich for the bearing of eyecatchign design.
Like stamps. Now, I know a bit about stamp design. I spent some time at the Royal Mint too - in the design department and with the curator of their museum lookign at old designs. It's quite primitive in many ways - and then mid bogglign in scale when you get onto the shop floor. They quite literally have pound coins lying around on the floor, being swept up into big bins with the off cuts, in the open areas between buildings there's just money lying around in the grass and stuff like metal washers might be on any other industrial estate.
Anyway - they should relax the rules a bit more with stamp design so that something similar can be done - rather than just getting excited about some potato faces (unfair personal opinion on JB's work)
Posted by: Tom | May 29, 2008 at 12:20
I love the coins, it's amazing to see that such an important piece of design has been so forward thinking. Perhaps we're not all as prude and conservative as we think!
Posted by: Jam | May 29, 2008 at 13:41
You know what? I don't like them. I think they don't work unless all placed together. The 20p (alas, my favourite coin!) is the worst, with it's big empty space on the right - it looks like a blank.
Hrrrmph!
Posted by: Dave | May 29, 2008 at 15:29
Dave - I really like the 20p, and I'll be happy to take them off your hand...
What do the other side look like? Still that incredibly dated profile of Liz? They should jigsaw her up as well!
Posted by: Daniel | May 29, 2008 at 15:39
Daniel - yes the other side is a picture of the Queen.
Posted by: Ben | May 29, 2008 at 15:50
Still not quite convinced somehow.
It bothers me there aren't any numerals on them – surely quite important for a coin? Tourists with very little English, etc?
Posted by: joe | May 30, 2008 at 14:54
Joe, that's a very good point. I've checked and there are no numbers on the front or back. It says TEN PENCE in words, but no numbers.
That, IMHO, is a big error.
Posted by: Ben | May 30, 2008 at 21:44