| ESTUARY PRECIOUS METAL ARTS |
This coin is ONE TROY OUNCE .999 FINE SILVER in a NUMBERED, LIMITED EDITION of 100 No more will ever be struck. |
On the face, the admonition: Les Morts Ne Mangent Pas. On the reverse-side, an image of the feast which those who ignore that very good advice may be missing. |
This is the number of people in the United States: 318,000,000
This is the number of these coins in existence: 100
This is the number of these coins in existence: 100
| The ARTIST'S STATEMENT As an artist, my work is to mark and to fix key aspects of our culture, so that they might be preserved, if only as artifacts. From our earliest times, coins and medals have been used for that very purpose. As currency, the value of coins has always been largely a matter of trust— as artifacts, their value is to declare the principles of a culture. Typically, when a culture declines, the precious metal content of its currency diminishes. Make what you will then of the fact that my work is done in the purest silver obtainable. Medals are struck to declare the honor of persons and events which the culture finds particularly just, noble, righteous. These person, these events, are honorable because of the principles they represent. My work captures and fixes some principles that I fear may be soon lost if not marked and fixed in a lasting form. My first coin—“Les Morts”—speaks at once about a gourmet delight in Life’s generosity and the fleeting nature of our existence. I’m basically saying, let’s face this first, we’ll talk about bigger things later. Those ‘bigger things’, as they emerge in future coins and medals in this series, are; points from the Chivalric Code—Protect the Innocent, and At All Times Speak the Truth—what I feel are genuinely American cultural claims—Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say—as well as a little good-natured advice for our somewhat too-forward- looking emerging generations—Explore the Past. These are a few of the pieces I am working on for this series. In my mind, fixing these driving cultural concepts in the respectable form they deserve is necessary work, if, perhaps, not entirely the noble task I sometimes imagine it to be. Nonetheless, by doing so, when we are no longer feasting, others might at least get a tiny glimpse into the way some of us once saw that feast. Richard Mansfield |
| The Artist in his studio, 1978 |
| An American mint offers the American Eagle Silver Proof with this statement: "This is a limited quantity item. There is no assurance that once gone it will be available again." I can do better than that. I'll give you this GUARANTEE: 'Les Morts' is a Numbered, strictly Limited Edition of 100. Once it is gone NO MORE WILL EVER BE STRUCK. |
| "It' s either immediately understood or can not be explained." |
some drawing I'm working on
SOMETHING ABOUT SCALE
I think of these coins and medals as Watch Pocket Art.
I’ve always liked pocket watches. You pluck the thing
out of your watch pocket to see what time it is and
find yourself admiring the piece itself. In that same
instant, you might notice that others want to get a look
at that watch, not to see the time but, like you, to get a
glance at what the watch itself might look like.
I like the idea that someone might carry one of my
designs around in their pocket and fish around in there
once in a while and take it out, and simply admire the
way it looks. If others are curious, and want to get a
look at it, that’s all the better.
Richard Mansfield
I think of these coins and medals as Watch Pocket Art.
I’ve always liked pocket watches. You pluck the thing
out of your watch pocket to see what time it is and
find yourself admiring the piece itself. In that same
instant, you might notice that others want to get a look
at that watch, not to see the time but, like you, to get a
glance at what the watch itself might look like.
I like the idea that someone might carry one of my
designs around in their pocket and fish around in there
once in a while and take it out, and simply admire the
way it looks. If others are curious, and want to get a
look at it, that’s all the better.
Richard Mansfield
| The ORIGINAL DESIGN |
CLEARING UP THE CONFUSION
People who have known me as a working artist for more than 40 years still have
some confusion regarding my most recent work in silver. So, let me explain.
It goes without saying that a painting’s value is more than the cost of the paint and
canvas, an etching is worth more than the ink and the paper it is impressed upon.
And, the value of my silver ‘coins’ is more than the silver they contain.
Owning a signed, numbered, limited edition work of art is an investment. In fact,
owning any work of art that speaks to you is an excellent investment. But people
who regularly purchase silver for investment purposes may have a special
appreciation for my work.
Of course, it might be kinda cool for anyone, silver connoisseur or not, to be one
of fewer-than 100 people on earth to possess a copy of ‘Les Morts’.
Richard Mansfield
People who have known me as a working artist for more than 40 years still have
some confusion regarding my most recent work in silver. So, let me explain.
It goes without saying that a painting’s value is more than the cost of the paint and
canvas, an etching is worth more than the ink and the paper it is impressed upon.
And, the value of my silver ‘coins’ is more than the silver they contain.
Owning a signed, numbered, limited edition work of art is an investment. In fact,
owning any work of art that speaks to you is an excellent investment. But people
who regularly purchase silver for investment purposes may have a special
appreciation for my work.
Of course, it might be kinda cool for anyone, silver connoisseur or not, to be one
of fewer-than 100 people on earth to possess a copy of ‘Les Morts’.
Richard Mansfield
| SOME OF MY WRITING |
| DONATE TO THE WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/ |
| Each Includes a signed, NUMBERED Certificate of Authenticity |
| This coin is 39 mm approx. 1.54 " |
| estuarypublications@yahoo.com EstuaryPreciousMetalArts@yahoo.com |
| Punch an' me 1978 Me an' Punch 2008 |
Photo by PAUL BELOTE
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