Today sees the release of the final coin in Mint’s, ‘Innovation of Science’ series. It has been a rocky old road, what with a total change in packaging half-way through and very little continuity in the designs themselves :/ But anyhow…..
‘Alan Turing’ is…. er…. well, a bit like ‘Franklin’ really. In fact, it is a lot like ‘Franklin’. That along with what looks a like either a safe lock or a clock…. All in all, this isn’t particularly attractive or exciting as far as coin designs go. And, like most releases of recent years, it looks very much like a rush job too.
Amongst the seemingly random characters on the right-hand side of the design you can make out the first half of the famous Alan Turing statement, ‘Only a foretaste of what is to come’. This has been ‘cleverly’ hidden in a block where there are no spaces between the letters. The rest of this oft quoted sentence is omitted – ‘and only the shadow of what is going to be’. I’m not being funny but I honestly hope this does not allude to future releases and this is not an example of other coins to come….
Matt Dent and Christian Davies are responsible for this last addition to the ‘Innovation of Science’ series…. and this is evident at a glance. That safe/clock on the left is so very ‘Bond’. It also leaves me pining for earlier Matt Dent designs in the very same way the ‘Bond’ coins did when I saw those. It is just too plain, too simplistic. I am well aware of an artist having a style but I am also aware that a style can become overpowering.
There is ‘graphic art’ and there is ‘flat’.
Specifications :
50p Brilliant Uncirculated Coin –
Alloy – Cupro-Nickel
Diameter – 27.30mm
Weight – 8.00g
Mintage – Unlimited*
Obverse Designer – Jody Clark
Reverse Designer – Matt Dent and Christian Davies
50p Silver Proof Coin –
Alloy – 925 Ag
Diameter – 27.30mm
Weight – 8.00g
Mintage – 3,210*
Obverse Designer – Jody Clark
Reverse Designer – Matt Dent and Christian Davies
50p Silver Proof Piedfort Coin –
Alloy – 925 Ag
Diameter – 27.30mm
Weight – 16.00g
Mintage – 1,510*
Obverse Designer – Jody Clark
Reverse Designer – Matt Dent and Christian Davies
Gold Proof Coin –
Alloy – 916.7 Au
Diameter – 27.30mm
Weight – 15.50g
Mintage – 210*
Obverse Designer – Jody Clark
Reverse Designer – Matt Dent and Christian Davies
*All mintages quoted are MCM (Maximum Coin Mintage). This means this is the most coins that may be issued. Ultimately, it is down to The Royal Mint to decide how many are minted so the reality is that each number given may turn out to be lower.
© Article and images (except where stated) copyright Mik Smith 2022
