The E-Sylum:  Volume 6, Number 14, April 6, 2003, Article 7

CONSIMILAR:  BOTH SIDES ALIKE.

  P. Scott Rubin writes: As to coins with the same design,
  but not the same dies, Alaska Rural Rehabilitation Corporation
  Tokens of 1935, listed in the Red Book, were stuck this way.
  All eight tokens.  The one Cent was not round as like the
  others but had eight sides, for another odd piece of Americana.

  Dick Johnson writes: "You are correct in surmising there are
  tokens and medals with identical designs on both sides. I can't
  speak for coins with identical sides.

  There is even a word for describing such numismatic items:
  CONSIMILAR.  Meaning both sides alike. The dies can be
  made from the same hub, model, punch or master pattern.
  American copyist and medalist James Bolen did this a lot (and
  you should hear from Bolen authority Neil E. Musante about
  these). An example of Bolen's handiwork is Musante JAB-34,
  the Double Elephant Token.

  I know of only one instance of medals from my days of
  cataloging the work of Medallic Art Company. In 1962
  sculptor John Terken (1912-1993) made one model for a
  MONY Client Service Medal (MAco 62-108).  They
  wanted both sides alike.  We could have cut a hub from a
  positive of Terken's model, then had two dies made from that
  hub. But hubbing is specialized and requires a modern
  hubbing press. Instead of owning our own hubbing press we
  always subcontracted the hubbing to one of the tool and die
  shops we worked with. So instead of having a hub made, we
  just went ahead and cut two dies from a negative die shell of
  Terken's model. We did this in our own plant on one of the
  five Janvier die-engraving pantographs we had at the time.

  [A hubbing press is a dangerous machine.  If you don't know
  what you are doing, too much pressure can cause a die to
  shatter. It sends out shrapnel in all directions. We had 1,000-ton
  presses, the worst that could happen with these is to lose a
  finger. You can get killed from a hubbing press!]

  But why would anyone want the same design on both sides?
  (Do I need to answer?  Do you always want heads to come
  up?) In Bolen's and similar cases, they used dies of similar
  diameter to create yet another specimen for you variety-
  hungry numismatists!

  Kavan Ratnatunga sends these links to interesting images of
  coins with the same obverse and reverse.  Dutch Ceilon 1660-
  1720  Wreath Series Copper Dumps and 1785 Ceylan Bonk
  bar -  Colombo VOC 4 3/4 Stuiver

  http://serendib.org/coins/dutch/wreath_cud.html
  http://serendib.org/coins/lingen/1785_voc_c_4.75st_cub.html

  A related discussion appears on this page:
  http://serendib.org/coins/egroup/obverse_reverse.html

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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