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V11 2008 INDEX
E-SYLUM ARCHIVE
FIRM TOUTS SOFTWARE USED BY U.S. MINT TO DESIGN COINS
The following press release appeared on Tuesday, issued by
the company which makes design software used at the U.S. Mint. -Editor
At SIGGRAPH today, SensAble Technologies, Inc, a leading provider of
touch-enabled modeling solutions and haptic devices, announced that the
United States Mint has used the FreeForm 3D modeling system to design some
of its most recent coins, including both collectible and currently
circulating releases. As sculpting and engraving professions transition to
digital technologies, United States Mint designers have used FreeForm to
incorporate classical artistry and textural refinement in their
engravings, while benefiting from digital efficiencies to meet the Mints
aggressive commemorative program schedule. United States Mint coins created using FreeForm that are available for viewing in booth 154 at the Los Angeles Convention Center include:
- Bald Eagle Half-Dollar, 2008, obverse (front side) part of the American Eagle Commemorative Coin series, this clad coin features a highly crafted baby eagle in the foreground, against a background of a striped US flag.
- James Monroe $1 Coin, 2008, obverse (front side) one of four Presidential coins being issued this year. SensAbles FreeForm was used to create the obverses likeness of the President, complete with prominent cheekbones and chin.
- Louisa Adams $10 Gold Coin, 2008, reverse (tail side) part of The First Spouse Gold Coin series, featuring an image of Louisa and son Charles in front of graceful Arc de Triomphe-style arches that symbolize their journey across Europe to join her husband John Quincy Adams in Paris during his diplomatic years.
- Arizona State Quarter, 2008, reverse (tail side) a currently circulating coin featuring an image of the Grand Canyon at the top, a Saguaro cactus in the foreground, and a banner across the middle reading "Grand Canyon State." Because the Saguaro cactus does not grow in the Grand Canyon, the high-relief banner visually separates the other images.
The FreeForm system is used by engravers and collectible product designers in many fields because it is tailored for creating curved, organic and non-geometric shapes. Instead of using a computer mouse, FreeForm users hold a stylus-like PHANTOM haptic device, and literally sculpt by touch actually feeling the coins surface as they are designing on-screen just as they would if they were working with wax or clay.
To read the complete article, see: SensAbles FreeForm 3D Modeling System Used To Design New Coins (http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?
ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080812005286)
Wayne Homren, Editor
The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org.
To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com
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