<In short, republics tend to issue coins with generic images, or images of general significance to the population, while authoritarian regimes tend to issue coins with an image of the ruler.>
Rather interesting ... I'd never really given this too much thought before. As a kid growing up in Canada, I always thought that American coins were rather boring and stodgy looking... serious-looking old dudes and government buildings, etc... As I got older, I just thought of the coins as being an imitation of Roman coinage.
In contrast, Canadian coins always seemed a bit more exciting... the penny had maple leaves on it, the nickel had a beaver chewing on a log, the dime had the schooner "The Bluenose" sailing on it, the quarter had a caribou head, and the dollar had a big birchbark canoe on it. The head was a picture of the then young, Queen E.
Beginning in 1967 (the year of Expo '67), the Canadian mint began issuing an increasing number of "special coins" during certain years... Needless to say, you're probably familiar with the coins which they issue. However, I will go on to say that many new coin designs are regularly commissioned. This year, there are a dozen different quarters available (several beautiful designs). People seem to like these coins a lot and apparently the mint sells many of them to collectors around the world so it's considered something of a "business". Further, I know many people who would not define themselves as "coin collectors" who buy all of these series coins just because they like them. A lot of people "collected" the $2 Polar Bear coins (2 metals) when they first appeared a couple of years back just because of the novelty of them at the time.
Anyhow, I don't know what any of the above says about the state of the Canadian government or prevailing ideology. Perhaps you might have a comment.
BTW, on a somewhat related topic... I was discussing stamps with an American friend yesterday. How do you feel that stamps fit into all of the above? US stamps break away from the style of the coinage and are often dedicated to pop-culture icons such as Elvis. About a year ago, I bought some that had Bugs Bunny on them and looked more like some kind of kids' stickers than postage stamps. At the time I wondered what foreign post offices would think of mail arriving with them on it... would they think the stamps were just someone's idea of a joke?..(-: In Canada, stamps are another "big deal" for collectors. Canada Post issues an ever-changing array of commissioned artwork featuring many interesting subjects.
Well, interesting discussion... Hope you get some posts from others...
Croc |
