Great War remembrance coin series designed by Joel Iskowitz

Iskowitz in his studio in 2010. Photo by Tvoz.

By Louis Golino

On or before Veterans’ Day, November 11, 2018, the Bradford Exchange will launch a series of coins designed by renowned American artist and designer Joel Iskowitz that pays tribute to the fallen soldiers of the First World War (1914-1918).

Mr. Iskowitz retired from the U.S. Mint earlier this year as the most prolific coin and medal designer of the Mint’s Artistic Infusion Program that is intended to add greater diversity to the designs that appear on U.S. coins and medals.

2008 American Eagle Platinum reverse (Judicial Branch) design by Joel Iskowitz. Hover to zoom.

He designed 54 important works of numismatic art for the Mint between 2005 and 2017, which includes some of the most well-regarded designs of recent decades such as several for the American Platinum Eagle Proof coin series and the 2016 Theodore Roosevelt National Park coin in the America the Beautiful series.

Mr. Iskowitz has a distinct artistic style and refers to himself as a “narrative artist,” which means his art is designed to use images to tell a story. Early in his career, he worked as an illustrator for books and other materials.

He also noted in an interview I did with him earlier this year that he was influenced by the great art of ancient Greece and Rome and by the renowned artists of the Renaissance and Baroque periods.

These elements of his artistic approach are on full display in the impressive series of coins he designed for the UK-based Bradford Exchange Limited, a web-based company that sells commemorative plates and other items for collectors that was founded in 1973.

The series, which will be struck in gold — and possibly in silver — is being issued with the cooperation and endorsement of the Lest We Forget Association, a voluntary organization created in 1922 to provide support and other services for disabled servicemen and women.

Mr. Iskowitz, whose earlier work included participating in the Air Force art program and whose work has been displayed at the Pentagon, among many other notable locations, was asked by the Bradford Exchange to create a series of six designs to mark the centennial of the Armistice, which was at the end of the Great War in 1918.

18 million people died during the so-called “War to End All Wars,” and 20 million were wounded and returned home.

After the war, it was decided that each of the allies should each issue their own bronze victory medal with a similar design, and they served as an important inspiration for this new series, which will be issued in the name of a UK Commonwealth nation and thus carry an effigy of Queen Elizabeth of the obverse of each piece. They are expected to have a denomination of one crown, which is equal to five shillings.


The British Victory medal, also known as “Wilfred,” was designed by W. McMillan. The front depicts a winged classical figure representing victory. Approximately 5.7 million victory medals were issued. The recipient’s service number, rank, name, and unit was impressed on the rim. The other Allied countries that issued Victory medals were: Belgium, Brazil, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, France, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Romania, Thailand, Union of South Africa, and the United States of America.

In addition to the stunning artwork of the designs that evoke a neo-classic style, this new series, which Mr. Iskowitz said has a “romantic look” to it, takes a different approach to what victory means from the many other coins and medals that have been produced on the same topic.

In these pieces, victory appears as an angel whose mission is to help remember and protect the fallen soldiers, rather than a military victory in the traditional sense.

According to the artist:

The underlying theme is “Remembrance,” featuring a vision of a compassionate, and at times, a mournful Victory, underscoring the enormous costs of the Great War. Each coin reflects the bittersweet nature of the victory, a tribute to those fallen and to the bravery and the sacrifice of the British soldiers.

He added:

“Ode of Remembrance” is taken from Laurence Binyon’s poem, “For the Fallen.” First published 1914, “For the Fallen” was composed in honor of the casualties of the British Expeditionary Force, which by then already suffered severely at the Battle of Mons and the Battle of the Marne.

The artist also drew inspiration for these pieces from the famous poem, “In Flanders Field,” written in 1915 by Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae. He wrote the poem during the Second Battle of Ypres, the day after he helped to bury a close friend. He had noticed how poppies bloomed around the grave and included this observation in his poem, which was written from the viewpoint of the dead soldiers. It is the defining poem of the First World War, and the poppy became an enduring symbol of remembrance.

The remembrance poppy was inspired by the World War I poem “In Flanders Fields.” Its opening lines refer to the many poppies that were the first flowers to grow in the churned-up earth of soldiers’ graves in Flanders, a region of Europe that overlies a part of Belgium.

These are the six coins with the inscriptions that appear on them. They attempt to evoke the spirit of remembrance, which each inscription inspires:

1) Victory in Flanders Fields carrying a soldier in her arms. Inscription: THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918 and THEY SHALL GROW NOT OLD.

2)  Victory and the Cenotaph. Inscription: THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918 and AS WE THAT ARE LEFT GROW OLD.

3)  Victory and the Unknown Soldier. Inscription: THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918 and AGE SHALL NOT WEARY THEM.

4)  Victory at Thiepval, France — Memorial to the Missing. Inscription: THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918 and NOR THE YEARS CONDEMN.

5)  Victory and the Stone of Remembrance. Inscription: THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918 and WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

6) Victory and the British Arboretum. Inscription: THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918 and AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN AND IN MORNING.

The poem “In Flanders Fields”:

In Flanders’ fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place: and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders’ fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe;

To you from failing hands we throw the torch; be yours to hold it high,

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders’ Fields.

Louis Golino is an award-winning numismatic journalist and writer specializing in modern U.S. and world coins. His work has appeared in Coin World, CoinWeek, The Numismatist, Numismatic News, and COINage, among other publications. His first coin-writing position was with Coin Update.

In 2015, his CoinWeek.com column, “The Coin Analyst,” received an award from the Numismatic Literary Guild for best website column. By 2017, he received an NLG award for best article in a non-numismatic publication with his “Liberty Centennial Designs,” which was published in Elemetal Direct.

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Comments

  1. Old Big Bird says

    WOW – what great looking coins. I wonder where the US Mint mind is when you see these!!!

  2. 20th Century Variety Collector says

    BEAUTIFUL…
    Take heed, U.S. Mint.
    Far superior work, than the U.S. Mint has produced lately, when you don’t have to appease the “politically correct”.
    🙂

  3. Mike in NY says

    These are beautiful coins. What a shame the US Mint continues to put out uninspired/amateur/cartoonish designs.

  4. sharks2th says

    Great article Louis. These are what the US mint coins could/should have been. I’m in agreement these put the mint products to shame.

  5. Jerry Diekmann says

    Obviously Joel is a superior aretist and medalist. The Mint’s politics probably prevented him from showing just how beautiful and inspiring coins and medals can be when politicians are removed from the scene. I hope these medals will be successful for Joel. It’s a shame they couldn’t have been isuued by the US Mint. I did not buy either the ugly WW I coin or the mediocre-at-best medals. The marketing approach to this issue was unconscionably awful.

  6. Louis says

    Thanks, guys. I figured you would like these. They will be issued as coins for a country of the UK Commonwealth, but the name of that country has not been announced yet.

    Joel’s past work includes designing an effigy of Queen Elizabeth II, making him the only American artist who has done that. This is discussed in the interview I did with him earlier this year that is linked in this new article.

  7. cagcrisp says

    There has been a Long Held Belief that One of the Main reasons to hold Gold was Political uncertainity (in this case the 3rd largest economy in the EURO zone).

    You can look at what Initially happened to Gold with breaking news from Italy…

    …And…Then you can Look at what Initially happened to the USD index…

    …And…Then you can Look at the argument between Political uncertainity vs. Currency uncertainity and see which One is Currently beating out the other…

  8. cagcrisp says

    As I’ve said Many times Before…

    …It’s All about the USD…

    …When it comes to USD denominated commodities…

  9. cagcrisp says

    AM Gold Fix $1,302.50 while Political uncertainty ruled the day

    PM Gold Fix $1,295.50 while the Strength of the USD (actually the Weakness of the EURO) ruled the day…

  10. Scott says

    Great designs, its a shame the US mint can’t produce this kind of artwork. BTW- Almost 200 years ago Voltaire said “All paper money eventually returns to it’s intrinsic value- zero.” Charles de Gaulle knew Voltaire was right 50 years ago. Eventually the USD will be worth about as much as Venezuelan Bolivars.

  11. Buzz Killington says

    I think the shame is that these are going to be minted by a “Commonwealth nation” instead of just a privately minted medal.

    If you really think about, is a coin from Gibraltar or the Channel Islands more valuable than just a medal?

    I believe in the USD. The currency of the Marshall Islands (to just name a random example)? Not so much.

  12. M says

    Bradford Exchange has been marketing exclusively designed coin programs for a while. Their traditional market of plates started drying up so they moved on to different products including coins. The quality and design of these coins has improved drastically in several years. These will be for Tristan da Cuhna. I like them for fun and design. They will most likely be lower cost plated coins with special pure silver versions offered to customers during the process. Bradford does have routes in minting…as they purchased the Hamilton Collection in 1999. Hamilton Collection was formerly the Hamilton Mint which produced lots of cool medals/ingots in the 1970s.

  13. M says

    …Bradford has a 365 day return policy too…so you cant lose. …as long as you are purchasing because you like the item.

  14. SmallPotatos says

    Louis,
    Thank you for bringing this to everyone’s attention! I have read this blog pretty much since int inception, but have not posted much lately; however these get my attention!. These are exceptional works of art, and our collective loss that they won’t be on U.S. coinage. Please let us know when, and where they will be available. i will purchase a set (or two) without a doubt!
    SP

  15. Steve says

    I think Joel Iskowitz was the greatest designer of American coins since the Golden Age (of Weinman, Fraser, de Francisci, et al.) The reverse of the 2008 platinum Eagle proof/burnished coin is a particular favorite.

    If Iskowitz is willing to continue producing coin designs (which obviously he is), he should be doing it for the U.S. I have to conclude that the Mint did something to alienate him . . . which is a shame. It is a commentary that the only Mint products that I find myself buying these days are recycled designs from the past.

  16. says

    All the very kind comments about my work from the collector’s community and one of the finest sculptors and medalists in America, Eugene Daub, are most deeply appreciated.
    Thanks to each one of you and enjoy celebrating our nation’s Independence today.
    Sincerely,
    Joel Iskowitz

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