VOCABULARY TERMS: HIGH POINT, HIGH RELIEF

High Point. The point of highest relief on a numismatic or medallic item. The high point – often the nose on a portrait – is formed from the lowest point of the die cavity. Examining the high point in the press room during striking is necessary for both medals and coins; it is the critical point which determines whether a medal is fully struck up in multiple striking, or for a coin during set up. High points are examined in the finishing department as well; as medals are oxidized and relieved they are examined to insure the high point is not overly buffed.

High points are the first to wear and the most vulnerable to damage, thus they are an important factor of condition. A collector or numismatist will check first an item's high points to determine wear or condition. If high points are particularly worn they are sometimes designated contact marks.

Also there are special high points – called support points. These are usually three in number, usually located on the reverse and sometimes hidden in the design purposely by the designer. Support points, as expected, support the item as it rests on a flat surface and somewhat prevents wear to the remainder of the design.

High Relief. Design projecting strongly from the background. Technically, high relief is a form of relief sculpture that is more than half projected from its background, with extensive undercutting. As such, the term would have no relationship to numismatics since this form of relief cannot be rendered into anything numismatic (and obviously cannot be made into or from a die).

However, the term is widely used in numismatic sales literature for multiple struck art medals with abnormal high design. An example is the Edgar Allan Poe Medal in the Hall of Fame for Great American series, 1963, by Michael Lantz. What is really meant here is high bas-relief (literally, high low relief – which does not mean medium relief – but instead, the highest possible form of low relief). Wherever the term high relief is found in numismatics this concept should be understood, rather than the form of sculptural relief with extensive undercutting that is standard in the art field. The term haute-relief is French for high relief. See relief.

Looking for the meaning of a numismatic word, or the description of a term?  Try the Newman Numismatic Portal's Numismatic Dictionary at: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/dictionary

Or if you would like a printed copy of the complete Encyclopedia, it is available. There are 1,854 terms, on 678 pages, in The Encyclopedia of Coin and Medal Technology. Even running two a week would require more than 19 years to publish them all. If you would like an advance draft of this vital reference work it may be obtained from the author for your check of $50 sent postpaid. Dick Johnson, 139 Thompson Drive, Torrington, CT 06790.

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