PRIVATE MINTS REPORT 上市 Deposited
The E-Sylum: Volume 6, Number 20, May 18, 2003, Article 7
PRIVATE MINTS REPORT
Dick Johnson writes: "I have just returned from a 2-week tour
where I visited several private mints gathering last-minute data
for my upcoming directory: American Artists, Diesinkers,
Engravers, Medalists and Sculptors of Coins and Medals.
These plant tours opened my eyes; it has been 25 years since
I worked for Medallic Art (in New York City and Danbury)
where I was intimately concerned with medal design, die
preparations, stamping and marketing of high-quality medals.Here are my comments on the current status of the American
Medal from my recent observations:(1) Private Mints are vibrant, business was brisk at both plants I visited.
(2) However, Speed is killing Art in current medal manufacturing.
Either customers are demanding product in too quick a time
or the medalmakers have come to offer such service that
medallic artists are being shut out of creating the fine art
medals of the past. The bulk of the work is being done by
hand operators using tracer controlled milling engravers,
rather than reducing sculptors' oversize models on die-
engraving pantographs. Craftsmen have won out over artists.(3) Medal manufacturing is now a scion of the advertising specialty field.
(4) Computers are dominating medal design, and even some die preparation.
(5) Every medalmaker I visited had carved out their own
niche in the medallic field, despite competition among
all their fellow American medalmakers.(6) Current medalmakers are encouraging innovation, in
the diestruck items they produce, in some parts of their
production (using all the old equipment I was familiar
with a generation ago), but mostly in creative mounting.
The later now give new clients the answer to the age-old
question, "What do you do with a medal?"Too much of what I saw going through these plants,
however, were destined for the recipients' junk drawer
(or a melting pot!), and should any of these medals ever get
into the hands of some future numismatic dealer would be
tossed into their cheapest junk box. Too many corporate
logos, too many devices alone without any reason for their
issuing, all of this because of the influence of the advertising
specialty field.Oh, how much better would all that effort and money be put
to creating medals in what medallic art does best -- creating
mementos of historical importance for future generations,
honoring, say, an organization's anniversary or a company
milestone. That is, striking a medal for a significant event!"- 2003-05-18
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