Designing a coin - The artist's role

Designing a currency coin requires considerable discipline. The artist must create a design which is perfectly clear and instantly recognisable within a very small round space at a very low level of relief.

The artist will often create a number of alternative design drawings, so that the approving authority can select the one which best achieves their aim. In the UK the Treasury and Her Majesty the Queen must approve any design for UK currency.

One side of a coin often features a portrait of the head of state. This is known as the ‘obverse’. The other side or ‘reverse’ usually features a unique design and the monetary value of each coin.

The artist models the design on a flat base such as a glass panel. This is done at a much larger scale than the final coin, because it would be almost impossible to model at the final size.

Next, the artist will create a ‘negative’ copy in rubber, and use this to create a plaster ‘positive’ copy. They will often work further on this until the plaster design is perfectly ready to go into production at the Mint.