# Nickels and Full Faces **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [March 31, 2008, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickels-and-full-faces/443434 "2008-03-31T19:38:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickels-and-full-faces/443434/1 "2008-03-31T19:38:03Z")
[How come portraits on coins are in profile while those on bills are full face?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_029.html) Time for an update!!! The [new nickels](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:2006_Nickel_Proof_Obv.png) are full face portraits of old TJ. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickels-and-full-faces/443434/2 "2008-03-31T19:45:49Z")
I was going to start a similar thread, based on [this](http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/03/31/080331fa_fact_owen) fascinating article…lots of good info on coins in general. ---
**Author:** ![silly\_ringtones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/0ea827/32.png) [@silly\_ringtones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silly_ringtones)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickels-and-full-faces/443434/3 "2008-03-31T20:31:28Z")
Here’s a link to the coins Cecil mentioned, front and side views of Henry VII [http://history.wisc.edu/sommerville/123/123%20202%20HVII%20policy.htm](http://history.wisc.edu/sommerville/123/123%20202%20HVII%20policy.htm) ---
**Author:** ![RachelChristine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7ab992/32.png) [@RachelChristine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RachelChristine)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickels-and-full-faces/443434/4 "2008-03-31T21:10:52Z")
What I would like to know is why the penny is facing the opposite way from all the other coins. Lincoln looks to the right, but Jefferson (old-style), Roosevelt, Washington, and Kennedy all face left. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickels-and-full-faces/443434/5 "2008-03-31T22:44:37Z")
The Sacagawea and U.S. President dollar coins also have full-face images. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickels-and-full-faces/443434/6 "2008-04-01T00:59:27Z")
[QUOTE=mobo85] The Sacagawea and U.S. President dollar coins also have full-face images. [/QUOTE] Quite so: [Dollar coin (United States) - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dollar_%28United_States_coin%29) Thanks, **Jackknifed** , for the interesting _New Yorker_ article. ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickels-and-full-faces/443434/7 "2008-04-01T03:47:51Z")
[QUOTE=RachelChristine] What I would like to know is why the penny is facing the opposite way from all the other coins. Lincoln looks to the right, but Jefferson (old-style), Roosevelt, Washington, and Kennedy all face left. [/QUOTE] As far as is known, it’s that:[ol] [li]There is a general tradition in Western art of portraits facing the viewer’s left,[/li][li]but the Lincoln cent was taken from a photograph that happened to be facing right.[/li][/ol] ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickels-and-full-faces/443434/8 "2008-04-01T09:32:31Z")
Cecil’s article just got Farked. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickels-and-full-faces/443434/9 "2008-04-01T11:32:37Z")
I just want to point out that full-face portraits on coins are nothing new. Although the ancient coins depicting Roman Emperors and the like are in profile, coins with Gorgons on them – which were by no means rare – invariably depicted them full-face: [http://dougsmith.ancients.info/feac66med.html](http://dougsmith.ancients.info/feac66med.html) > **[The Gorgons of Parion](http://www.snible.org/coins/parion.html)** > > The ancient Greek city-state of Parion struck coinage bearing the image of the gorgon. [http://www.johnbmcnamara.com/cpg015.htm](http://www.johnbmcnamara.com/cpg015.htm) [http://www.moonmoth.demon.co.uk/medusa.html](http://www.moonmoth.demon.co.uk/medusa.html) > **[Apollo or Gorgon? (the coins of Apollonia Pontika)](http://www.snible.org/coins/ap.html)** > > The ancient Greek city-state of Apollonia Pontika struck coinage bearing the image of the gorgon and the god Apollo. As I’ve described at length elsewhere, Gorgons and Gorgon parallels were almost invariably depicted full-face, not in profile, everywhere in the ancient world. They were often the only (or almost the only) figures so depicted. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickels-and-full-faces/443434/10 "2008-04-01T12:05:35Z")
Gorgons have exaggerated features and don’t need to be a good likeness of an actual person. So they are ideal for depiction in relief in full face. The thrust of Cecil’s article is that real people are not. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickels-and-full-faces/443434/11 "2008-04-01T12:10:50Z")
> [@](#): > > Gorgons have exaggerated features and don’t need to be a good likeness of an actual person. So they are ideal for depiction in relief in full face. The thrust of Cecil’s article is that real people are not. Agreed. I shoul;d have articulated that. Nevertheless, it’s important to note that not all faces were profiles. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickels-and-full-faces/443434/12 "2008-04-01T12:19:22Z")
As Cecil does. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickels-and-full-faces/443434/13 "2008-04-01T12:41:02Z")
He says they’re rare: > [@](#): > > Fact is, while full face portraits on coins aren’t completely unknown, they’re definitely rare, The Gorgon coins weren’t at all rare. You can still buy one , cheaply enough. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickels-and-full-faces/443434/14 "2008-04-01T22:17:53Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] He says they’re rare: The Gorgon coins weren’t at all rare. You can still buy one , cheaply enough. [/QUOTE] Which gets us back to the fact that gorgons aren’t people, thus the main point made by Cecil is true. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nickels-and-full-faces/443434/15 "2008-04-01T22:57:01Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] The Gorgon coins weren’t at all rare. You can still buy one , cheaply enough. [/QUOTE] What percentage of coins do you think they represent? You’re thinking like a collector. Cecil is talking about all coins, down to the dimes in your pocket. Billions upon billions of them.