June 18th, 2008 by heath
Coin of the Realm
You’re looking at the new coinage of our cousins across the Atlantic, the British. The design, which cleverly has the reverse of each coin represent a part of the Royal Arms, with the £1 coin showing the full shield, is the work of a 26-year old graphic designer named Matthew Dent. His design was chosen from over 4,000 submissions through an open competition despite the fact that he had no previous experience creating money, and as a prize, he gets to see his work used every day by millions of Britons.
Now, as Jonathan Hoefler notes, compare and contrast with our new five dollar bill:
Below, the new five dollar bill, introduced last month by the United States Department of the Treasury. The new design, which features a big purple Helvetica five, is the work of a 147-year-old government agency called the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing. It employs 2,500 people, and has an annual budget of $525,000,000.
So what do 2,500 employees and half a billion dollars get you?
A giant purple five. Set in Helvetica.
Oh well, at least it isn’t Arial. (via Kottke)
