Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
New UK Coinage
Interview with Matthew Dent, the chap who designed the striking new UK coinage.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by StephenBln on
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I would imagine that they will be legal tender in Harringay?
I personally don't like the designs very much, one; because the value of the coin is only written and no numerals are used. Two; I think the designs are too contemporary and will date very quickly. Three; It's a shame that the opportunity wasn't taken to reduce the amount of small value coins.. two examples:: Keep 1p, scrap 2p & 5p coins or scrap both 1p & 2p coins and round all prices up to 5p. Holland & Finland also do this and stop the amount of annoying small change that accumulates in purses and pockets.
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Permalink Reply by matt on
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Yup, I don't like the designs at all and cannot understand why the 1p & 2p coins aren't scrapped. They're a damned nuisance!
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I know that I'm wandering OT here and without wanting to start a discussion on the pro & cons of certain currencies. I just wanted to demonstrate to those that might be interested that there are some (quite) nice coins designs out there:
For instance here
or here
and here
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Wow, those State Quarters are 'awesome'. Excellent detail and I like the fact that many steer away from using the faces of once famous or stately individuals.
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Permalink Reply by Gareth on
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I agree about them not having numerals is an oversight, but the overall concept and execution is superb. Progress, my friend. We need to progress as a culture and a nation, and design is one of the strongest tools we have to do this. I would rather have a new set of coins which 'will date very quickly' than a set which are so dripping with tradition that they are hugely dated before they are even released! (oh, and have you thought of the inflationary impact of scrapping small coin denominations?)
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It's more than an oversight.. someone, probably a super "cool" designer has got carried away and forgotten just what coins are for.. Just imagine Banknotes without numerals on them? What a gaff!
No, lousy designing I would say.. and the country's coinage in the future will look like it's made up of "seconds".. and not fit for purpose.
As for the inflationary impact: I offered two options, keep the penny, but scrap two and five pence pieces.. or just scrap 1p and 2p coins. In that case, with the 5p as the smallest coin, I actually think that due to competition considerations, prices would be generally lowered from e.g. 1.99 to 1.95, rather than increased from 1.99 to 2.00. and comparing this change to rises in fuel and house prices over the last ten years, I don't think it would make much difference to inflation figures.
Thanks again for your comments, which really made me aware that I've become a BOF! Oh well, you're only old once..!
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Nice one Stephen… Glad you took my comments as debate rather than like on most forums (appalling english there - apols) where debate escalates into full scale rudeness in about 3 exchanges.
Design is so subjective… Whether people do or don't like the new coinage, only time will tell, but I do rate the Royal Mint for a brave move away from traditional designs. As we've seen with the abomination that is the London Olympics logo, contemporary (although this wouldn't have been contemporary in the 80s!) isn't always the right direction, although I think the Olympics debacle does stand out as badly approached design from every angle.
And I agree again, omitting the numeral is criminal, a basic design error. List the things your brief has asked you to solve, and ensure your final design solves them all, and in the case of coinage it needs to be easy to use. Imagine if asian coins had no recognizable numbers on them, only numbers in words!
And don't worry, I stand right beside you on the BOF front, just maybe with slightly different major annoyances :) (like the 29 bus)
enjoy the sun
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