The Great Engraver Series

[MLNCoins]

Curious to know if whether anyone has heard anymore about this series, I spoke to the Lady at the Coin Connection a few weeks back and she's heard nothing about the next one. Even if you haven't heard anything, I'd be curious to know what you guys think will be the next one in the series. Whether we will have another William Wyon coin, or another designer perhaps.

I hope they put the gothic crown into this series, as they are stunning. Pictures below for those who haven't seen this coin.

[goldmember44]

The Gothic crown won't be easy to replicate, because both sides are special.... and on a modern coin, one side has to be used for the portrait of the current monarch. So, there won't be a fancy Gothic-looking portrait of Victoria on it too.

I also don't think they will pick another William Wyon for the next one, but rather a design from another famous engraver.

[Dragonnumis]

@nee4891 I bet at some point it will be the classic seated britannia reverse. I think the engraver is Leonard Charles Wyon?
 

 

[MLNCoins]

20 hours ago, goldmember44 said:

The Gothic crown won't be easy to replicate, because both sides are special.... and on a modern coin, one side has to be used for the portrait of the current monarch. So, there won't be a fancy Gothic-looking portrait of Victoria on it too.

I also don't think they will pick another William Wyon for the next one, but rather a design from another famous engraver.

This is true, and a valid point. I suppose it could follow the lead of the music legends, only with one of each engraver instead. Care to wager a guess on who you think might be in the series @goldmember44? I actually don't know a lot of the engravers so share your thoughts and id like to research into them

@Dragonnumis Definitely! A very nice coin, ill look into the engraver  

[goldmember44]

18 minutes ago, nee4891 said:

This is true, and a valid point. I suppose it could follow the lead of the music legends, only with one of each engraver instead. Care to wager a guess on who you think might be in the series @goldmember44? I actually don't know a lot of the engravers so share your thoughts and id like to research into them

To be honest I don't know many engravers myself, I've only been in this hobby for a little over a year  One I do know, though, is Benedetto Pistrucci... we might see something of him? That would be nice.

[diesel]

I have a feeling, much like the Queens Beasts, we have already seen the best of the series in the first release.
 

My own opinion of course. 

[BrumChris]

3 hours ago, diesel said:

I have a feeling, much like the Queens Beasts, we have already seen the best of the series in the first release.
 

My own opinion of course. 

I think you may be right. I doubt they do the gothic but a britannia penny may well be on the books. I'd rather buy a good quality original than a gold reproduction though.

[Stuntman]

I would like to see designs by Jean-Baptiste Merlen (ideally the William IV half crown reverse) and George Kruger Gray (the George V wreath crown reverse).  

 

Links to pictures on the Chards site:

https://www.chards.co.uk/1834-william-iv-silver-half-crown/7926

https://www.chards.co.uk/1928-george-v-wreath-silver-crown-coin/6933

[Stuntman]

The Victoria Old Head Florin reverse by Sir Edward Poynter would be another good one.

(link to a page on the Chards site to show a picture)

https://www.chards.co.uk/1899-victoria-old-head-silver-florin/7928

[westminstrel]

The thing with many of these suggestions is that the original coins can be relatively really purchased at not-too-exorbitant prices. Why would you want a “restrike”, as it were, if you can get the original?

The appeal of the new Una and the Lion coin was that it was a chance for collectors to get an officially struck version of a design whose original is now unattainable by most.

So I don’t believe the RM will pick any of these “lesser” designs for the next coin in the series. I think they will go BIG just as they did with Una.

Either way, the speculation is fun. 🙂

[MLNCoins]

12 minutes ago, westminstrel said:

Either way, the speculation is fun. 🙂

Exactly what this thread is for . You make a valid point about the designs above. This is why I suggested the gothic crown as hard to come by, low mintage, as well being argued one of the most beautiful coins ever produced. Although beauty is within the eye of the beholder!

[westminstrel]

By the way, there’s been a couple speculation discussions.

 The latest of these is: https://www.thesilverforum.com/topic/32084-speculation-on-2020-and-2021-great-engravers-designs/

[MLNCoins]

43 minutes ago, westminstrel said:

By the way, there’s been a couple speculation discussions.

 The latest of these is: https://www.thesilverforum.com/topic/32084-speculation-on-2020-and-2021-great-engravers-designs/

How I didn't see this I'm not sure, I wouldn't of bothered putting up another thread! Must be the long working hours! 

A good point made by another forum member on that thread was that its about the engravers, not the coin. So I think that's the Gothic crown out of the window. Trying to find other engravers with good reverse designs. Names would be great if you know some (apart from those in other thread).

[westminstrel]

8 hours ago, MLNCoins said:

Names would be great if you know some (apart from those in other thread).

My knowledge is limited so I don’t have anything else to add as far as suggesting other engravers. 🙂

[Frenchie]

We only think about old and classic designs, but why we could not consider modern engravers ? I think about Jody Clark and his 2014 Britannia as an example.

Would love to think about this modern design in this serie   

[trozau]

For the modern engravers, I tip my hat to Philip Nathan and his first 5 designs for the PM Britannia series:

1987 - Classic standing Britannia

1997 - Britannia as Boadicea on a chariot

2001 - Britannia as Una and the lion

2003 - Britannia as a helmeted Athena

2005 - Classic seated Britannia

[westminstrel]

IMO the ENTIRE point of this series is to resurrect designs which aren’t easily available anymore by making them available to a new generation of collectors.

The Jody Clark designs are new and freely available - what’s the motivation for re-releasing them literally less than a decade from their original release? The same goes for all the new Britannia designs.

I still think the RM will be going with older designs which will be worthy of the limited range and the high price point.

Also, as good as his work is, I don’t think you can place Jody Clark in the same league as William Wyon and Benedetto Pistrucci. Not yet at any rate. I mean c’mon... those dudes spent a lifetime perfecting their art before reaching the pinnacles of their careers. 🙂

[sovereignsteve]

1 hour ago, westminstrel said:

Also, as good as his work is, I don’t think you can place Jody Clark in the same league as William Wyon and Benedetto Pistrucci. Not yet at any rate. I mean c’mon... those dudes spent a lifetime perfecting their art before reaching the pinnacles of their careers

The older generation of engravers were actually that; they engraved directly, often from life in the case of monarchs' effigy.

I've no idea if Jody Clark actually does any real engraving work, but he certainly does a fair bit of computer aided design.