lions which rcsuhcd from mechanical reduction of a 

 model into the stei-i die.-''' 



Giorgi's original work, the dies prepared for the 

 coinage of Italian Somaliland, have little, if any 

 artistic \alue. He created these coins merely for a 

 practical medium of exchange, imitating Trentacoste 

 in the exccvuion of \'ictor Emmanuers portrait. 

 Giorgi tried to interpret in his own way the recom- 

 mendation of the Monetary Commission in 1905 that 

 "the coin, in contrast to the products of other arts. 

 rej)resents by its nature ... a tangible record of the 

 degree of perfection in a nation's art."-™ Giorgi 

 sought fulfillment of esthetic criteria purely in tech- 

 nical perfection. 



His successor at the mint was .Attilio Motti,-'' 

 \\h() held tlie [)osition of engraver and chief engraver 

 for 22 years until his death at age 68 in 1935. Motti 

 continued Giorgi's tradition of technical perfection. 

 .Ml of the coins struck at the Roman mint for the 

 Italian go\ernment and for foreign states during the 

 period from 1913 to 1935 are faultless examples of 

 his technical skill as well as his understanding of the 

 artistic problems involved in adapting a project to 

 a coin. Often he had to encounter the difficult 

 task of reconciling new and bold ideas of various artists 

 with the technical limitations of coin engraving. 

 The dies cut by Motti from models presented by 

 Calandra, Romagnoli, or Mistruzzi, nevertheless, 

 reproduced faithfully the individual characteristics 

 of each artist. 



The 5 lire of 1914 designed by Calandra (fig. 107), 

 the 20 lire of 1927 (fig. 112), and the 20 lire of 1928 

 (fig. 126) created by Romagnoli were magnificiently 

 translated into steel dies by Motti. Each of the 

 three coins presents a new treatment of surface 

 and edge. The 5 lire 1914 has a wide, protective 

 rim which encloses the massive coin, while the 20- 

 lire [)iecc of 1927 is conceived differently: the plan- 

 chct is not as thick and the whole appearance of the 

 coin is less compact; in order to protect the well- 

 rounded relief, a beaded and slightly raised border 

 encloses the coin field. Even more basically difTerent 

 is the 20 lire 1928 (fig. 126). This new and daring 

 creation of Romagnoli fills the limited coin field 

 to capacity. The impression of forceful expansion 



is maintained by Motti through a \ery ingenious 

 technicjue which practically eliminates the border: 

 only a sharp, raised edge contains the impressive 

 coin image. 



The same technique was used by Motti for striking 

 the gold 100 and 20 lire 1923 with fasces. These 

 coins are his own artistic products (fig. 109). The 



Fig. tog. — Italy, Victor Emm.anuel III, too lire, i923-"2 

 (.Author's photo) 



portrait of the king, although impeccable in its 

 plastic treatment, shows little spiritual life. Impassive 

 in its expression, it reveals the inability of the artist 

 to reach beyond physiognomic likeness. The large- 

 sized letters of the inscription overcrowd the field, 

 depriving the coin of any esthetic appeal. 



Fig. no. — Italian Somaliland, Victor Emmanull III, 



to lire, 1925 -"^ 



(Div. of .\umismalics photo) 



The reverse types of the 100- and 20-lire pieces of 

 1923 (fig. 109) present a novel emblem in Italian 

 gold coinage. The simplicity of the Roman fasces 

 and the lictorian ax would have been more impressive 

 if not disrupted by the bold inscription. 



The same tendency to use oversize lettering to 

 indicate the denomination is characteristic of Motti. 

 Apparently he believed that the indication of value 



■'■" The only rclialjlc information availaljle about the other- 

 wise unknown and complicated backstage operations involved 

 in the planning, preparing, and striking of coins, and about 

 the activity of persons involved in this process, is in the series 

 of articles written by Mario Lanfranco, the former director of 

 the Roman mint. .See under Lanfra.nco in literature cited. 



2™ Lanfranco, Has.V (1931), p. 237. 

 27' BD.\f, vol. 8, p. 84. 



2'2 Pagani, Mimete ilaliaiu, coin 957; D'inokrti, RI.X (1956), 

 p. 128. 

 -^ Pagani, Monde ilalitinr, coin 1302. 



50 



BULLETIN 229: CONTRIBI^TIONS FROM THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY .AND TECHNOLOGY 



