Powercoin have had a long association with art as a theme for their coins, going back over a decade to their nanochip issues, and continuing with some of their terrific mosaic and puzzle offerings, so it’s of little surprise they’d continue to use it for imaginative new takes on the genre. Today, we see the debut of not one, but two new art-themed series, both with a quirky take on the art world.

Firstly, we have a look at the most controversial form of artistic expression – Modern Art. To be up-front, I hate modern art. The art world is full of cons and corruption, but that’s mainly around the way it’s promoted, sold and stored. It’s a fascinating subject, and I’d highly recommend searching out some decent YouTube documentaries on the subject, as it’s seriously eye-opening. However, modern-art just isn’t art. Nonsense like Damien Hurst cutting fish in half, Tracy Emin displaying bricks or unmade beds, and countless other examples, just highlight the insular stupidity of the whole scene. If you disagree, fine, but nothing is changing my mind about the vast majority.

Now, I don’t know what Powercoin think of it, but I absolutely love this coin. It perfectly encapsulates the sheer absurdity of modern art. For those unaware, the banana stuck to a wall with duct tape is a genuine piece called ‘Comedian’, by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, who created three editions of it, the second of which was bought by crypto-bro (of course he was…), Justin Sun, who paid $6.2m for it, later eating it on stage. The third is in the Guggenheim Museum. There are countless explanations for the piece, all complete cobblers, of course, and for me, it’s the perfect encapsulation of the shallow nature of modern society. It is funny, though.

The two-ounce silver proof coin’s depiction of a crowd of admirers examining the ludicrous piece sums it all up, and gave me a good chuckle. The background is a neat mix of inscriptions done in a mix of fonts, and we suspect a common one to the series. It comes in a cleverly themed latex frame for display, but, unfortunately, you’ll have to supply your own duct tape should you wish to wall-mount it…

The second coin brings back memories. Anyone with computer experience has likely run across a basic pixel art programme like Microsoft Paint, and what Poweercoin have reproduced is a monitor screen with a work-in-progress. The old low-res displays were seriously challenging to create a good piece of art on, and the coin does a great job at explaining to the lay-person just how digital images are made up of coloured dots, called pixels. What you see here is the basis for all digital imaging, from TV’s to digital cameras – quite literally the foundation of modern imagery.

The choice of image also has me reminiscing, as it was one used to promote the release of Deluxe Paint for the Commodore Amiga 1000, way back in 1985. It’s obviously the head of Venus, from the famous painting by Sandro Botticelli. Deluxe Paint was awesome, by the way, a real treat back in the day. The obverse depicts the back of a monitor, complete with an old VGA port. Really showing my age here! I do like the way it shows perspective.

Again, it’s a two-ounce proof silver coin, presented in a latex frame, and nicely themed out with an incorporated certificate of authenticity. A simple enough coin, but one that brings back memories of a time when computers were just showing their potential. Now we take it for granted, but digital imaging remains a great resource, and sense of enjoyment. The coin is a nostalgic look back at its origins. This, and the banana, are available to order now.