Roger Burdette's 1936-1942 Proofs Book 1 1

[olympicsos]

On 12/8/2022 at 7:09 PM, RWB said:

The artists objected to shiny, polished baubles. The approved other types of medallic finishes and treatments, including sandblasting and antiquing (as seen on some 1921 Peace dollars).

I wonder if any other artists of coins other than the Renaissance artists objected to polished surfaces? Or whether any mint engravers objected to polished surfaces? Which designers preferred polished surfaces? Reading about the Renaissance artists objection made me wonder. 

[RWB]

I am not aware of any sculptors or medallic artists who favored mirror-like polish on medals or coins. All felt it was cheap and suitable only for tawdry tokens and baubles. From a manufacturing position, it was difficult to give a uniform polish to irregularly curved surfaces, as were normal on medals. Engravers at the Philadelphia Mint were fully aware of this, but also did what they were told and followed tradition. Coin collectors favored polished fields on master and proof coins; this gave the pieces a distinctive appearance that was not available with satin, matte or sandblast surfaces.

[olympicsos]

On 1/18/2024 at 12:38 PM, RWB said:

I am not aware of any sculptors or medallic artists who favored mirror-like polish on medals or coins. All felt it was cheap and suitable only for tawdry tokens and baubles. From a manufacturing position, it was difficult to give a uniform polish to irregularly curved surfaces, as were normal on medals. Engravers at the Philadelphia Mint were fully aware of this, but also did what they were told and followed tradition. Coin collectors favored polished fields on master and proof coins; this gave the pieces a distinctive appearance that was not available with satin, matte or sandblast surfaces.

Thanks for the insight! I would assume that this objection might also apply to the modern era sculptors or engravers like Gasparro, Jones, Mercanti, Menna etc. Sandblast surfaces are really an acquired taste, but once I realized that a non polished surface would be the artists original intent, it's really hard to look at mirror proof coins the same. Especially considering there are coin salespeople who hype proof coins as coins that are intended to match the artists original intent. 

[RWB]

Modern coin sculptor/engravers don't seem to pay much attention, except on medals. Properly basining and polishing items such as the baseball commemorative remain a problem for the US Mint. Other countries don't seem to have so much difficulty -- or at least they don't harp on it. Independent sculptors use various textures. including mirrors, for their dramatic and artistic effects, so it's not so much of an overall objection as it once was.

[GoldFinger1969]

Is there a book solely on Proof Gold Coins ?

[RWB]

John Danreuther's book on proof gold is about as close as it comes, but it is not detailed on how and why.

[kevinhamiltongsk]

On 11/26/2022 at 11:16 PM, FlyingAl said:

I've had many conversations about these proofs with Roger over private messages, but his comment about being able to discuss with others (referring to @GoldFinger1969's thread) made me decide to bring my next question to the public forum. 
 

Roger, you state in your section on manufacturing the proofs that you viewed three groupings of 1936 proof sets (still in their mint mailing boxes). There were 28 coins in total. My questions are as follows - where did you find such a large grouping of these coins in their original state, and do you have photographs of the coins?

Burdett does an excellent job of presenting compelling evidence and analyzing historical events. His storytelling is captivating, and his multi-faceted characters come to life on the pages of the book. When I read this book I even asked do my homework for me, I found https://ca.edubirdie.com/do-my-homework-for-me for this. That's how much I liked this work. The author masterfully recreates the atmosphere of the time, immersing the reader in the events of the war years. Cool!

Burdett does an excellent job of presenting compelling evidence and analyzing historical events. His storytelling is captivating, and his multi-faceted characters come to life on the pages of the book. The author masterfully recreates the atmosphere of the time, immersing the reader in the events of the war years. Cool!

Edited January 29 by kevinhamiltongsk

[GoldFinger1969]

Just wanted to say that for any non-experts who have this book and read it years ago....you may find that re-reading it a 2nd time with your accumulated knowledge from this hobby (including forums like this) makes it much easier to read and information much more sticky.  I posted to this effect in another thread here.

If anybody DOES re-read the book a 2nd time years after reading it the 1st time when their knowledge of Proofs was much less, I'd be interested in hearing if the 2nd time through was really beneficial.  So far, I'm finding the answer is YES to another Whitman Red Book. 

Edited January 28 by GoldFinger1969

[RWB]

On 1/28/2024 at 10:23 AM, kevinhamiltongsk said:

Burdett does an excellent job of presenting compelling evidence and analyzing historical events. His storytelling is captivating, and his multi-faceted characters come to life on the pages of the book. The author masterfully recreates the atmosphere of the time, immersing the reader in the events of the war years. Cool!

Thank you for the kind remarks.