What?!!! How can Christmas be CANCELED?
It's funny how ideas come about. One second you're in a meeting discussing your weekend while waiting on the final team member to join you and then next, BAM! A coin idea strikes. In this case, an idea for a series of 1 ounce copper Christmas rounds, with a twist. What started out as a quick quip turned into a (somewhat) serious brainstorming session.
Jake Larman, Inside Sales Coordinator, described the creation process this way.
We are asked throughout the entirety of each year about our Christmas offerings and if people can expect new designs. Our priority is to always give customers what they want, but when we held meetings to come up with new ideas, we could not quite find the proper way to build off of our current traditional designs. The last thing anyone at Osborne wanted to offer was something repetitive or uninspired. Sure, we could create a new snowflake or Santa in a new pose with his sleigh, but it kept coming back to the idea that we already offer that and people want something new.
At the dawn of the project’s cancellation, we realized we should run with just that – Christmas is hereby cancelled. We wanted to have a sense of humor with everything involved; so, why not take iconic holiday images and have them ask, “what if we cannot do Christmas this year?” What if the snow melts or what if the trees caught fire? What if everything else was not working out; so, Santa could not afford to keep his shop running for the year? In a unique way, the idea makes you appreciate the spirit of Christmas more by showing you the other side of it. Ultimately, Christmas is fun and we wanted to show that in a brand new way.
As you can imagine, there were LOTS of thoughts, and some weren't suitable to bring up here. We then quickly established ground rules - mainly that we would focus on the secular part of Christmas, not the religious. With that off the table, we really got down to business. We decided we wanted a series of four designs and one common reverse.
Common Reverse
The reverse was inspired by our standard copper wings back, shield, weight, and purity, but anti-Christmas themed. The common back has a bag of coal with Santa's initials perched over an owl with outstretched wings holding an axe. I'm told this is to represent the first Harry Potter movie, which is a Christmas movie. [To be honest, I don't get the whole Harry Potter Christmas connection - let me know what you think!]
The weight and purity are shown prominently above and below the design, while shattered candy canes bracket a circle of mistletoe and a ratty ribbon.
Once the reverse was done, the rest of the designs quickly fell in line.
Christmas Tree
The sad-looking Christmas tree started us off. It's making a valiant attempt to be festive, with ornaments, lights, and a star, but when the forest is burning around you, there's not much left to be done but pull out all the festive you can manage and hope for the best.
Snowman
In the classic cartoon, Frosty the Snowman dies (melts) because he's taking care of a little
girl. Of course, there are extenuating circumstances, like an evil magician, but in the end, he melts away because of his big heart.
Our snowman doesn't give a hoot about love or friendship, and based on the "look" on his face, he's seriously peeved about what's happening to him. Because this is a family-friendly round, his branches are clenched in fists as opposed to showing 1 single upraised finger (errr, branch). Global warming claims another victim!
Reindeer
We're all familiar with the most famous reindeer of them all - Rudolph. So famous he has his own song and his own Christmas special. Our reindeer may end up being famous for another, not so wholesome reason, since he's carting around a man on the top of his SUV like a hood ornament. In a case of "turnabout is fair play" the hunted becomes the hunter and our reindeer is not taking any prisoners.
The North Pole
The elves showed up for work one day at Santa's workshop and got the shock of their
lives. A FORECLOSURE sign was covering the North Pole! How could this happen, the elves all cried!
Santa had to tell them that times are tough, the cost of labor and materials have gone up so much that he could no longer afford payments on the North Pole.
Purchasing Information
These rounds will be available for purchase in September 2023. They are struck on 1 AVDP ounce of .999 copper and packed in tubes of 20. Other packaging options are available. Lacquering to keep them looking lustrous and shiny is also an option. The MOQ is 250 pieces.
Distributor pricing is available. Contact Patrick at 513-681-5424, patrick@osbornecoin.com, or click here to get information about becoming a distributor.
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