A little numismatic grin.... 1 1

[RWB]

Just for laughs, here are two of the rejected cover sketches for From Mine to Mint. The first was too literal and also awkward. The second seemed overly harsh and obscure - it's an abandoned silver mine.

[Alex in PA.]

I like the cover as is.  

[Coinbuf]

I like the second photo.

[Fenntucky Mike]

I think an image of Yukon Cornelius throwing his pickax in the air, dislodging a gold nugget, and a medal press below producing 4" Hermey the elf gold medals would have been appropriate.

I like the one that was chosen for the cover better than the two above. Good decision.  

[The Neophyte Numismatist]

I like them all, but I like the original best.  Thanks for sharing - that's fun!

[RWB]

On 3/11/2022 at 6:18 PM, Coinbuf said:

I like the second photo.

The mine photo was also an option for a CD of the Pittman silver dollar production records. But the American Eagle placing a laurel wreath on the British Lion ended up being the better. The image is based on a WW-I Victory poster from the British Museum.

 

 

Edited March 12, 2022 by RWB

[RWB]

Here's one of the most complicated covers to design. The background image is this one:

Illustration: “A Patrol in Action,” by Sgt. Howard J. Brodie, 1944. The graphite and crayon drawing shows soldiers on patrol in the jungle during the World War II Battle of Guadalcanal.

On that are illustrations of WW-II experimental pieces using drop shadows to add visual depth....

With title and author text and background shadow over laid on everything else. I really liked Sgt. Brodie's sketch -- full of action and character. I tried many different positions for the coins, including removing them entirely. But every coin person I asked said that the coin images were critical to attracting collector attention....So they stayed. I took care to make sure the two faces visible in the original remained visible in the cover adaptation.

Edited March 12, 2022 by RWB

[Woods020]

I like the second one a lot. 
 

The first one isn’t bad, but I think it would only appeal to those that knew you and wanted to read the book. I don’t know how, but as a fairly prolific author in this space I hope you find ways to make it somewhat appealing to newer collectors and some of the younger crowd. It’s a fine line and I certainly don’t have the answer. We want to push new and young collectors to learn the correct way, primarily through study. In order for that to be successful they need access to the right material. Both informative and not a total bore. A tirade I know but the first image would definitely go against that concept. 

[Fenntucky Mike]

Roger, who designed the artwork that did make the cover?  The only mention of an artist I see is in the acknowledgements, Jane Waldron.

[RWB]

On 3/12/2022 at 8:26 AM, Fenntucky Mike said:

Roger, who designed the artwork that did make the cover?  The only mention of an artist I see is in the acknowledgements, Jane Waldron.

Jane W. designed the covers for Renaissance of American Coinage 1909-1915 and RAC 1916-1921 based on two WW-I Red Cross posters. I did the RAC 1905-1908 cover based on a magazine cover. Jane also offered comments and suggestions on the other book covers including these:

Several of the more recent books have "coiny" covers -- ones that feature photos of the kinds of coins described in the books. I'm not a fan of this approach, but it attracts attention of collectors and gives them a better idea of the contents.

Edited March 12, 2022 by RWB

[RWB]

On 3/12/2022 at 8:26 AM, Fenntucky Mike said:

Roger, who designed the artwork that did make the cover?  The only mention of an artist I see is in the acknowledgements, Jane Waldron.

If you mean for the WW-II pattern book, I did. Jane gave me some suggestions on the final design -- fonts, positioning, etc.

[Conder101]

On 3/11/2022 at 11:20 PM, RWB said:

But every coin person I asked said that the coin images were critical to attracting collector attention....So they stayed. I took care to make sure the two faces visible in the original remained visible in the cover adaptation.

They're probably correct, I never even NOTICED the background sketch.

[RWB]

On 3/13/2022 at 9:38 AM, Conder101 said:

I never even NOTICED the background sketch.

I try to tie the cover images to the book's theme and to specific content if I can. In some instances it works and in others it is too subtle or simply not visually distinct. In the following instance, I eliminated everything except the main subject (Anna Williams):

[GoldFinger1969]

Anything to say about the SAINTS cover ?

[RWB]

On 3/13/2022 at 2:12 PM, GoldFinger1969 said:

Anything to say about the SAINTS cover ?

I had no input. Heritage handled that by recycling their internal book design.

[USAuPzlBxBob]

I didn't understand the Pattern and Experimental book cover, and I immediately noticed the penny with WAR SERIES.

Huh?  I don't remember ever seeing one of those!  So I got out my Red Book and went to the Lincoln Cent pages.

Nothing there.

Came back to the Pattern and Experimental cover photo again, and finally put two and two together again.

The WAR SERIES was just an idea that stayed as "just an idea."

My only excuse is that I wrapped up doing my taxes last week, and they took me around 20 hours over seven days.  Still mail them in, but they're a work of art when completed.  Last time they'll be difficult as I am no longer on the ACA going forward, and I now get the senior Standard Deduction.

[RWB]

"War Series"  cent design is from the description of plastic pieces that were produced. No examples are known to have survived. This is the only true WW-II pattern piece.