Royal Mint Experience (Visitor Centre)

[Sword 1,517]

On 09/02/2017 at 1:34 PM, 1949threepence said:

Hadn't realised that the reverse designer was only 15 when he won the public design competition. Fair play to the lad, he's made a damn good job of it.    

This is a photo of the original design.

Apparently there were more than 6000 entries including adults. The design was then refined by the coin artist David Lawrence. 

Don't get me wrong. I am very pleased for him and I think it is a totally fantastic for a 15 year old to win the competition. 

However, if I am honest, it really just look like the work of a (talented) schoolboy rather than a pro. I understand that he tried to be PC and so the leek, rose, thistle and shamrock are similar in size. But it just look odd for the leek to be the same size as say the shamrock. For me, the coronet is also out of proportion to the plants. The rose, thistle, shamrock and leek are somehow just sitting next to each other without any sort of interlinking. The quality of the engraving (which has nothing to do with his design) just doesn't do it for me. Then again, many of the modern designs also look rather poor. That's why I don't collect modern RM offerings!

 

Edited February 11, 2017 by Sword

[Leo 91]

Quote

However, if I am honest, it really just look like the work of a (talented) schoolboy rather than a pro.

I agree, it's an infantile design. It will be superseded in a year or so. A far cry from the intricate, beautiful designs of the pre-decimal issues, designed to last decades. The last florin comes to mind.

[Leo 91]

Or the wreath crown of your avatar as well

[Sword 1,517]

17 hours ago, Leo said:

Or the wreath crown of your avatar as well

I love the Wreath Crown design and think it is Kruger Gray's best work. It was also a very original design and has deservedly achieved iconic status. This idea of plants coming out of a coronet was no doubt inspired by the excellent works of Leslie Durbin shown on the 1984-87 pound coins. I really like Durbin's works and the only set of decimal coins I have brought was the 1984-87 four coins piedfort. 

[Leo 91]

Quote

Kruger Gray's best work. 

He is also the author of the 6 and 3 pence reverses with the oak leaves and acorns, which I think are genius!

[mint_mark 10]

Hi everyone,

I visited the Royal Mint experience yesterday... it was a long day trip for me (from near Southampton).

It was a good tour and the exhibition was really interesting, although similar in parts to the sort of things you see in the British Museum. This was aimed more at the general public so everything was explained nice and clearly. It was more popular than I expected, with coach trips and families providing a varied audience. I hadn't expected the preparation stages of the blanks and dies to be so interesting... never really thought about how the lettering, milling and fusing of bimetallic coins was done. Not all at the same time! Also surprising that all the coin presses were German machines... You don't get to see the whole process in action, just the striking and counting/packaging area.

Our guide explained that the mint is required to have tens of millions of pounds worth of coins in stock, but they don't get paid for them until they're issued. She said that the mint makes no profit from UK circulating coinage... all their income comes from foreign countries and collectables, which explains the panoply of commemoratives and precious metal releases.

Some disappointments... I couldn't find much to buy in the gift shop, even though I wanted to. I thought there would be more coin themed items like lapel badges and keyrings, maybe with a tasteful Britannia or George and dragon design. Most of the gifts were related to the current commemorative themes... Beatrix Potter, world wars and royal anniversaries. And when you did buy something (a box of fudge in the end) there were no new pound coins for your change. Ironically, they were almost out of change :/

Still, I did strike my own pound coin... it's a 2017 BU coin which I think will be the same as the circulating one in due course, so maybe that could have been a little more special. It does look practically perfect under the magnifier though... and just £7.50.

I'm glad I went... mostly because it's something you just couldn't do until recently. Not sure I'd go again... and I'm still pretty sure I'm not really interested in most of the things they sell. They did have some cardboard albums for people to collect coin designs from change... if this becomes popular they could offer coins to fill in gaps in those collections, although I hate to think what they would charge!

Back to checking my change...

 

   Mark

[Peckris 579]

Definitely not an 1853 proof set - the bronze coins are the 'bun' designs of post-1860. Curious mix of designs though - not perhaps from a single year?