I've come across a few stories about ordinary people/models, not presidents or royalty, whose images were used on coins or inspired coin designers.

1. Probably most recent and well publicized is Sacagawea dollar model Randy'L He-dow Teton.

http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/golden...fm?action=randy

2. German post-war 50 pfennig coin design is rumored to be insipred by designer's wife. I think Christian posted something about this coin, but I can't find that thread right now...



Are there any others?

Here is one that comes to mind:

http://cgi.ebay.com/1891-PRINT-of-ANNA-WIL...1QQcmdZViewItem

It is the woman that I have seen most often credited for being on the Morgan dollar. I have seen the picture not angled like that before but cannot find one now.

Note: Not my auction and, from what I can tell, that is just for a print out of the original picture.

Ahhhh! Here we go:



http://www.bowersandmerena.com/articles/ar...tid=3097&type=1

This just proves how little I know about US coins. Good stuff, Stu.
I just went searching and found the same article about Anna Williams on Bowers and Merena site.

You don't have to be female, attractive, or even human to be a coin model (which keeps my hopes alive ).

http://coinpeople.com/index.php?showtopic=47

Of course, that is not exactly the way I want to end up afterwards.

Anne Willing Bingham, on the Bust Dollar coins

Reid Goldsboroughs Page on Anne Willing Bingham

There are numerous articles around about Teresa de Francisci, the model for the USA Peace Dollar, she was an Italian immigrant, she lived into the early 1990's.

Ahhhh yes! That one had slipped my mind. Here is the page with some sketches/paintings of her from Reid's site:

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/reidgold/dra...busts/pics.html

I did not know this one. Here is the only picture I could find on a search of her:

http://www.littletoncoin.com/images1/Colum...e_Francisci.jpg

and the article:

http://www.littletoncoin.com/html/EdReiter4.htm

Pretty cool stuff.

IIRC, when Elizabeth Jones was doing the work on the Washington 250th anniversary half dollar 'way back in 1981 or 1982, she was visited in her studio by the dancer, Rudolf Nureyev. She used his hands as the model for Washington's hands on the side with GW on the horse.

Or so I've been told...

there's a US dude depicted on a dutch commem:

George C. Marshall

Her beauty must have been a 19th century thing, much like Anna Williams is not quite the looker I would expect as a model for a coin.

Now - Randy L' Teton, that is another matter

So true.

Another one I remember...

A popular belief has been that Longacre used his daughter Sarah as the model for the Indian Head Cent but I don't know if that is a myth that has been busted or if it is true.

Then there are the 3 Chiefs supposedly used as models for the obverse of the buffalo nickel.

Chief Big Tree
http://www.axel-jacob.de/chiefs13.html#bigtree

Chief Two Moons
http://www.axel-jacob.de/chiefs2.html#moon

Chief Iron Tail
http://www.axel-jacob.de/chiefs14.html#irontail

Now, I want to hunt down the nude man who appeared on the Italian 50 lira around 1970s...

That was a pretty silly but pretty coin

I know he isn't exactly a human being, but what about......

Black Diamond?