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LOOPY LEW'S PENMANSHIP PROGRESS
Treasury secretary Jack Lew has apparently been working on that loopy signature of his that people were concerned about appearing on U.S. paper money. Here's an article from London's Independent. Dave Bowers also shared an article from the BBC news. Thanks.
-Editor
When US President Barack Obama nominated Jack Lew as the new Secretary of the US Treasury in January, the media had one overwhelming concern about the appointment: Lew’s illegible signature, which resembles the doodle of an absent-minded child, would now appear on every US banknote. “I had never noticed Jack’s signature,” Obama joked as he announced Lew’s elevation. “And when this was highlighted in the press, I considered rescinding my offer to appoint him.” Now Lew has made good on his promise. Though the banknotes featuring his signature have yet to enter circulation, reporters spotted an improved version of the former scrawl in a new report published by the Financial Stability Oversight Council. Lew’s first name, middle initial and last name are all now semi-legible in the updated autograph. However, administration officials have warned that the new Secretary’s signature on forthcoming dollar bills remains a work in progress, and that the new currency will feature a third and final iteration of Lew’s loopy scribble. Though this is an extreme case, it is not uncommon for Treasury Secretaries to hone their John Hancocks before adding them to banknotes. Former Obama Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in an interview last year that he, too, had been asked to improve his signature after submitting it to the Bureau of Printing and Engraving. To read the complete article, see: Treasury boss who drove President Obama loopy hits on a new signature for bank notes (/www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/treasury-boss-who-drove-president-obama-loopy-hits-on-a-new-signature-for-bank-notes-8606812.html) To read the BBC News article, see: US Treasury Secretary makes loopy signature clearer (www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22449532) Dennis Tucker adds: This makes me think of Betty Edwards’s classic book, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. She has a section on handwriting and signatures, and guidance on how anyone can consciously change their sloppy/lazy signature into something more reflective and thought-out. It’s something that every artist (I immediately think of cartoonists, since that’s my “thing”) will think about sooner or later. “How should I sign my name?” It’s interesting to observe the latitude designers have had in numismatics, where they’re working with a tiny tondo and an even smaller space for their initials. Adolph Weinman’s elegant identification on the Liberty Walking half dollar comes to mind --- a lot different from the plain block lettering we see on modern commemoratives and circulating coins. 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 To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
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