On Sun, 08 Aug 2004 21:11:41 -0400, Reid Goldsborough
wrote:

Not a "direct" copy. An indirect copy. Saints, Walkers, and Standing
Libs in their overall designs were influenced by classical Greek and
Roman coinage. None was a direct copy of any specific ancient Greek or
Roman coin, and the Liberty on none of them was a direct copy of any
specific ancient Greek or Roman goddess.

I should correct myself here. Harlan Berk has theorized that the Saint
Liberty was modeled after the work of Paionios of Mende, a Greek
sculptor of the 5th century BC. Paionios' sculpture of Nike, goddess
of victory, was excavated in Greece in 1875, an event that Augustus
Saint-Gaudens, being a classicist, must have been aware of. Like the
Saint-Gaudens Liberty, the Paionios Nike features a buxom, partially
draped female form striding forward, left arm raised, left leg leading
the right. You can view pictures of it at the Ancient Greek Cities
Web site:

http://www.sikyon.com/Olympia/Art/olymp_eg08.html

There are other connections, with other coins. The Liberty that
appears on Trade dollars is similar in form to the Britannia on
British farthings of the 17th century, which is similar to the Roma on
ancient Roman coins such as the sesterii of Nero and Antoninus Pius of
the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, which in turn is similar to the Athena
on the ancient Greek coins of Lysimachos in the 3rd century BC.

I'm not aware of these kinds of connections involving the Liberty on
the Walker or Standing Lib quarter.

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