ikaros

The "winner" is: ScottO's 1696 Shilling, Scottish arms at date A rare variety of a beautiful coin, turned into a love token and almost completely worn away, apart from the key part, and also holed.

The "winners" are: Art's 1981 UK Diana and Charles Crown A bad portrait. When found in pristine condition the coin is acceptably attractive but one an amount of use begins the portraits begin to take on far less attractive characteristics. The way the portraits are positioned is quite unattractive to start with. Don't like Charles looking into Diana's ear and all that. and ScottO's 2004 Pakistan 1 Rupee Only thing going for it is the coin is struck in high relief, however the reverse just looks rushed and drawn quickly rather then neat and tidy.

The "winner" is: ScottO's 1679 Maundy 4d Who knows what happened to this. Obverse is destroyed, lots of dents and a hole, hardly any detail left.

The "winner" is: ScottO's 1977 Hungary 2 Forint Not a bad design, but the obverse design in its position just looks odd, would look better more central instead of pushed down.

The "winner" is: Art's 2005 Luxembourg 2 Euro Commemorative Placing two portraits on the surface of a coin is at best difficult. To make the two portraits reside in the same small space and present them attractively is almost impossible. In this case the portrait of Adolphe has a strange appearance. The nose is sharply pointed and the large blob directly below it - his mustache in reality, is really unattractive. They could have done better.

The "winner" is: ikaros' 1825 UK farthing Britannia is not on trial here. No, the obverse portrait is what moves this poor thing into contention. Even taking into account the then-current Neoclassical style in art and architecture, I question the wisdom of producing a portrait of the king that would genuinely look more appropriate surrounded by the legend "NERO CLAVDIVS CAESAR".

The "winner" is: ikaros' 1916 UK Penny Not only worn, this poor penny seems to have caught the Andromeda Strain too, or maybe some sort of metal ebola.

The "winner" is: ScottO's 1690 Tin Farthing A rare coin, made out of a material that does not survive the tests of time very well, huge chunks missing, and very few details remain.

The "winner" is: ikaros' 1853 US quarter, arrows & rays Not only is nearly all the detail wiped from this coin, the reeding is all worn flat.

Just a reminder - this round of voting closes Monday night! Vote early, vote often!

Once we get all the finalists, it will simplify greatly -- we're getting close, but we need fewer ties!

Whereas I think that 3d came out of a chemical waste dump...

Poor George... as a general rule, I quite like his coins!

Ohyeah - the correct voting thread is here, and I am still a doofus. At least sometimes.

The ikaros is a strange creature when he is sleep deprived. I put up two Chuck & Di vs Pakistan polls. This is the correct poll for Group 1/3, and I apologize for the goof! Ugly Coin Competition 2014 Ugly By Design I'm Not Bad, I'm Just Engraved That Way 1971 and After Art's 2005 Luxembourg 2 Euro Commemorative Placing two portraits on the surface of a coin is at best difficult. To make the two portraits reside in the same small space and present them attractively is almost impossible. In this case the portrait of Adolphe has a strange appearance. The nose is sharply pointed and the large blob directly below it - his mustache in reality, is really unattractive. They could have done better. vs ikaros' 2007P US Wyoming 25c There are a multitude of sins here. First of course is the common obverse with all the depth and character of a washer -- Washington's wig should be sculpted, not grooved! -- just like all other modern circulating issues in the US. In comparison, though, the reverse makes a washer look interesting. A cowboy on a bucking bronco doesn't make me think of Wyoming; there are too many other states with a cowboy tradition. And a silhouette of a cowboy on a bucking bronco alongside the state nickname only suggests to me that this design was finalized when someone realized the deadline to get it to the Mint was later that same day.

With any kind of luck next week we can have the finals, and start getting the division finalists going up against each other...

Ugly Coin Competition 2014 Ugly By Design You Poor Poor Thing 1970 and Before ScottO's 1551 Type 6B London 6d Both age and clipping has destroyed this once beautiful and scarce coin, the king looks like a ghostly figure on the obverse. vs ScottO's 1679 Maundy 4d Who knows what happened to this. Obverse is destroyed, lots of dents and a hole, hardly any detail left.

Ugly Coin Competition 2014 Ugly By Design I'm Not Bad, I'm Just Engraved That Way 1971 and After Art's 1981 UK Diana and Charles Crown A bad portrait. When found in pristine condition the coin is acceptably attractive but one an amount of use begins the portraits begin to take on far less attractive characteristics. The way the portraits are positioned is quite unattractive to start with. Don't like Charles looking into Diana's ear and all that. vs ScottO's 2004 Pakistan 1 Rupee Only thing going for it is the coin is struck in high relief, however the reverse just looks rushed and drawn quickly rather then neat and tidy.

Ugly Coin Competition 2014 Ugly By Nature Aging Like Mayonnaise 1970 and Before ScottO's 1690 Tin Farthing A rare coin, made out of a material that does not survive the tests of time very well, huge chunks missing, and very few details remain. vs ikaros' 1946 UK Brass 3d Short of being run over by a train, just about everything that could happen to a coin has happened to this poor thing. Heavy wear, corrosion, paint, what looks like burn marks, a gouge across the thrift plant on the obverse, and some indeterminate gunk.

Ugly Coin Competition 2014 Ugly By Design You Poor Poor Thing 1970 and Before ScottO's 1696 Shilling, Scottish arms at date A rare variety of a beautiful coin, turned into a love token and almost completely worn away, apart from the key part, and also holed. vs ScottO's ca. 1649 England half groat A boring design at the best of times, however holed and clipped with wear, it looks worse

Ugly Coin Competition 2014 Ugly By Design I'm Not Bad, I'm Just Engraved That Way 1971 and After ikaros' 2009D US Nickel The US Mint, in their "wisdom", dispensed with the dignified if slightly dull Felix Schlag design and the really, really nice "peekaboo" obverse from the Westward Ho series, in order to give us Nancy Kulp as Thomas Jefferson. And of course, like all other current American coins, it has all the depth and sculpting of a washer. vs ScottO's 1977 Hungary 2 Forint Not a bad design, but the obverse design in its position just looks odd, would look better more central instead of pushed down.

Mea culpa mea maxima culpa! :black eye: Just to prevent any errors or confusion, I have edited this post to blank it!

We're down to three entrants so we'll have them go head to head to head for the final. Ugly Coin Competition 2014 Ugly By Design I'm Not Bad, I'm Just Engraved That Way 1970 and Before ikaros' 1825 UK farthing Britannia is not on trial here. No, the obverse portrait is what moves this poor thing into contention. Even taking into account the then-current Neoclassical style in art and architecture, I question the wisdom of producing a portrait of the king that would genuinely look more appropriate surrounded by the legend "NERO CLAVDIVS CAESAR". vs ScottO's 1638 Sweden 1/4 ore Not the worst design in the world, I do like the crudeness of it, the issue here is that the coin was made by the casting technique, and has had a lot of extra metal on the design from where the metal has ran. vs ScottO's 1944 France 2 Franc liberation issue Compared to all other French coins, there is little in terms of design, the obverse is just FRANCE and a wreath.

Ugly By Nature Aging Like Mayonnaise 1970 and Before ScottO's 1917 Maundy 2d An average design coin, that was once mounted leaving an ugly raised line all along the obverse. vs ikaros' 1916 UK Penny Not only worn, this poor penny seems to have caught the Andromeda Strain too, or maybe some sort of metal ebola.

Ugly By Nature Aging Like Mayonnaise 1970 and Before ikaros' 1853 US quarter, arrows & rays Not only is nearly all the detail wiped from this coin, the reeding is all worn flat. vs thedeadpoint's 1941 US Half Dollar Until recently, my oldest proof. The first "big" coin I added to my collection about half a lifetime ago when I was a youngster. Why is it in this contest? Hard to see in this pic but that eagle has some unsightly toning in an area "where the sun don't shine."