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Thoughts about the unique nature of CENTS traits and their significance
[read this article on Medium here]
The CENTS community is redefining traits by intertwining the organic wear of each coin with its historical and aesthetic uniqueness, creating a tapestry of individuality rarely seen in digital collections. Unlike algorithmic randomization, CENTS traits emerge from real-world narratives, making each piece a singular, irreplicable artifact of time – or as @shibboleth named it: „time-based generative art”.
1. Traits Rooted in Reality
Unlike generative 10K collections with algorithmically assigned traits, CENTS traits are derived from real-world physicality.
Each CENT is a high-resolution photograph of a genuine coin, and its traits
are natural phenomena like wear, patina, and imperfections—etched by time, not code.
2. Surface as a Trait
The surface uniqueness of each CENT is unparalleled. Scratches,
contaminations, patinas, and aging patterns create a distinctive fingerprint,
ensuring no two CENTS are alike.
These traits offer a visual and textural narrative, turning each CENT into a
time capsule.
3. Mint Year Significance
CENTS includes mint years as a trait, drawing parallels to traditional coin
collecting.
„Meme-Years” like 1969, 1971 or coins from significant historical years become
highly coveted, adding a layer of historical storytelling to the project.
4. Scarcity in Layered Traits
The rarity isn’t just about visual traits but the intersection of traits:
A CENT with a unique patina might also have a rare mint year or a blockchain-native trait (Hitman/ JPEG)
This layering of rarity adds depth and complexity, moving beyond the approach typical of generative NFTs.
5. Narrative-Driven Categories
Each CENT is categorized based on its historical or aesthetic significance, such as: o
Wheat Backs (1910–1958): A nod to a bygone design era.
Abraded: Unique due to external force.
Verdigris: Prized for their vivid, organic patina.
6. Philosophy in the Traits
CENTS traits evoke questions about value – and it does look like the CENTS community is developing a different view to traditional numismatics:
Does a heavily worn CENT lose or gain value?
Is a vibrant patina or a bold fingerprint a sign of beauty or decay?
How does rarity intersect with subjective perception of worth?
7. Collector Engagement with Traits
Traits encourage collectors to look closely and interpret, even to name their CENTS:
Some collectors focus on mint years, aligning with numismatics.
Most Collectors value visual traits, like vibrant patinas, fingerprints or bold scratches, emphasizing aesthetics.
This freedom of interpretation makes the project deeply personal.
8. Traits as a Reflection of Time
CENTS traits are inherently about time’s passage:
They capture what decades of circulation and exposure have left behind.
Each CENT tells a story of transformation through wear and erosion.
9. No Generative Uniformity
There is no generative uniformity in CENTS like in traditional collections that rely on template-based sameness with randomized traits. CENTS is different – each one is individually sourced and entirely unique, yet it still is generative as it relies on a real-world, template-based likeness. „Likeness” instead of „sameness” feels more accurate, as even the template itself has changed slightly over time, adding subtle layers of uniqueness – to quote @shibboleth again: „temporal generative art”!
CENTS – Reflections on Mint Years and their Long-Term Significance
Looking closely at the minting years in the CENTS collection, I explore five distinct
perspectives that shape their meaning and significance.
1. The Rare Years:
The very first thing I did on minting day was create an Excel sheet to uncover
which years and mint marks were rare in the collection and which were not.
The numbers highlight a fascinating pyramid of scarcity within the CENTS
collection:
• The three years from the 1980s – 1980, 1981, and 1982 – each contribute
around 8-9% to the 10K, meaning nearly one in every four CENTS (25.79%)
comes from this three years.
• Half the collection (50.2%) comes from before 1976, marking a significant
concentration of CENTS in the first seven years.
• Excluding just one more year—1975, which alone accounts for 750 CENTS –
this drops to 42.7%, showing how quickly the numbers shrink when we step
back even slightly in time.
• Looking at the 1960s: pre-1970 CENTS – the figure falls sharply
to 21.26%, emphasizing the growing scarcity of older coins.
• Moving into true scarcity, only 2.91% of CENTS are pre-1960.
• Next step – excluding 1959: Wheat CENTS account for just 2.08% of the
collection.
The design change in 1959 marked the end of the iconic Wheat Reverse
(1909–1958), giving way to the familiar Lincoln Memorial design. This
transition adds a layer of symbolic weight to Wheat Pennies: they represent
an era and a connection to the early 20th century. Owning at least one
Wheat CENT has become an emblem of prestige within the CENTS
community.
• The rarity intensifies dramatically with pre-1950 – the oldest CENTS at
just 0.96%!
• Historical treasures: pre-1940 at an astonishingly low 0.26% – their scarcity
making them the ultimate collector’s gems.
This data reveals how quickly scarcity accelerates the further back in time you go – turning those CENTS into historical treasures and highly coveted rarities within the collection.
The rarest minting years in the CENTS collection are the „1/1 years” – mint years with exactly one representation in the entire 10K collection. These CENTS are extraordinary anomalies with absolute scarcity:
1954, 1949, 1939, 1935, 1934, 1930, 1929, 1928, 1926, 1919, 1912, and 1911 stand as singular relics.
2. The Meme Years:
For the current crypto community, 1969 stand out as the „meme” year, fueled by internet culture and its playful irreverence. The number has become iconic in digital spaces, often stripped of any deeper historical meaning and instead serving as a shorthand for shared jokes and cultural tropes. This underscores how memes evolve over time and are shaped by the humor and shared experiences of specific generations.
Looking back a couple of decades, an older generation would likely consider 1968 as their „meme” year—symbolizing the height of the student movement, the sexual revolution, and the cultural upheaval that defined their formative years. Interestingly, 1968 also connects to Rutherford Chang's earlier project „We Buy White Albums”, which exclusively focused on first-edition pressings of The Beatles’ White Album, all released in 1968. This highlights how specific years can hold layered meanings across art, culture, and history. Memes are grounded in the context of specific historical significance and collective consciousness. Meme-character is fluid, reflecting the ever-changing nature of culture.
3. The Years of Personal Significance:
For many collectors, years with personal meaning – such as their birth year or the birth years of loved ones – hold a uniquely sentimental value. CENTS bought for that reason create strong emotional bonds, tying the collection to individual lives. However, from a broader historical perspective, such years are unlikely to retain their significance over the long run, too. As generations pass, these personal attachments will fade, making them less relevant to future collectors.
4. The Historically Significant Years:
From the perspective of a historian, looking back to the 20th century from today, the years 1945 and 1969 carry weight for their undeniable impact on global history.
1945 stands for the end of WWII, the victory over Nazi-Germany, ushering in a new geopolitical order.
1969 remains monumental for the moon landing, a milestone that embodied humanity’s capacity for innovation and exploration. These years transcend generational memes and serve as enduring symbols of collective achievement and historical turning points.
Remark: There lies a certain Irony in a connection between 1945 and 1969 – that is deeply intertwined in the messy pragmatism of geopolitics and human ambition:
Without the conclusion of World War II in 1945 – and specifically, the calculated recruitment of Nazi scientists like Wernher von Braun through „Operation Paperclip” – the technological leap that led to the moon landing in 1969 might have been delayed or even derailed. Von Braun, the architect of the V2 rocket that terrorized Europe during the war, became the celebrated visionary behind NASA’s Saturn V rocket. The moon landing, as much as it was a beacon of hope and unity, carried within it a shadow of the darkest chapter of the century.
5. The Conceptual Years:
1944 marked the creation of the Bretton Woods system, laying the foundation for the modern monetary order. This year resonates deeply within CENTS, linking cultural memory to its central commentary on value and time.
1971, however, is even more aligned with the conceptual framework of the CENTS project. It was the year the United States abandoned the gold standard, severing the connection between currency and tangible value, and redefining money as a purely abstract construct. This seismic shift in global economic history directly challenges our notions of value, permanence, and trust – concepts at the heart of CENTS.
More than just a date, 1971 is bridging historical significance with the philosophical weight that underpins the collection.
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