Диаметр: 28.4, мм
Вес: 12, грамм
Металл: Cupro-nickel / Nickel-brass
Гурт: ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES 1859
Качество: BUNC

Монетный двор: Royal Mint
Тираж: 25000

Дата добавления:2009-10-16 00:01:50

Charles Darwin 1809 - 1882

Charles Darwin was born on 12 February 1809 and became one of the most influential men in world history. He qualified as a clergyman in Cambridge but did not take Holy Orders after graduating; his life was to take an entirely different course.
He declared himself as ‘born a naturalist’ and when he was invited to survey the southern coasts of South America aboard HMS Beagle in 1831, he recognised it as ‘the most important event of my life’. The journey took almost five years and he collected huge numbers of specimens, noting similarities as well as distinct differences amongst species depending on their territory. Many more years of research led, in 1859, to the publication of On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. Flying in the face of common wisdom as well as religious convention, Darwin’s theory
may not have been universally accepted but was to change the scientific world forever. Darwin died on 19 April 1882 and was laid to rest in Westminster Abbey.
http://www.royalmint.com/store/BritishBase/UKCDBU.aspx


The Coin

Suzie Zamit - Designer of the Charles Darwin coinThe new commemorative reverse design was created by Suzie Zamit who explains:
'The brief was to submit reverse designs for a new £2 coin issued to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species in 1859.'
As I am a sculptor, mainly portraitist, my approach was figurative.
My immediate idea was to depict Darwin looking back into the past so the starting point was to have him in full or 3/4 profile on one side and there were a variety of options for the other; early human image profile or skull, ape, fossils, early plant life etc. He dealt with human origins in the Descent of Man published at a later date but it was human evolution that most people associate with Darwin and particularly the Victorian cartoons that depict him with the body of a monkey or the walking upright sequence. I conducted a vox pop among colleagues and friends for an iconic image they associated with Darwin and the majority said a monkey . The Galapagos Islands came second (which don't quite have the same visual appeal on a coin!). I have always loved animals on coins and very much enjoyed the chance to be able to sculpt a chimp portrait on this one.
Charles Darwin CoinI decided having Darwin and an ape was the simplest and most recognizable way of saying EVOLUTION. I found many more images of him in 3/4 profile, but with the low relief required for modern coinage, full profiles are always much more successful and the eye contact between the two is visually very powerful. The fascinating thing too is that Darwin has very deep set eyes and a prominent brow...I'm not sure whether this is fact or not, but his children referred to him as a missing link! Chimps in fact share 95% of our DNA ... I chose a chimp profile and enjoyed myself trying to make it as Darwin-like as possible in its character... aged and serious.
I am now embarked on a lifesize portrait of Darwin having been tantalised by so much work on one profile and the need to look at the whole head, and especially to get to grips with that wonderful brow and deepset eyes'.
http://www.royalmint.com/focus/darwinFeature.aspx