Pieces Of Eight

Looking for stuff to turn the new macro-reversing-ring on, I threw some loose change in front of the lens. Not many things are so indicative of what a country is all about, or at least how they see themselves, as what people put on their money.



Isn't there something about the images that we place on ours that just, I don't know, feel like home? Symbols that we as Americans have cultivated as solely our own. Ideas and ideals engraved on our psyche just as sure as they're engraved on the coins.



Images of things we're taught to believe made us strong and what we believe makes us unique. Things like the ever present and oft cited 'Pioneering Spirit'...that sense of adventure and frontier taming and ultimately, personal success...



Some coins have visions of unlimited horizons and a vast, rich land.



Some are reminders of a readiness to defend, but always searching for peace.



Tiny, carefully detailed images that recall massive mistakes made, struggles past, and lessons learned.



But all speaking of loftier aspirations and what might be possible in a country that is indeed, unique.



...and this only a dollar, sixteen cents' worth...