KISS Coins
About the KISS Coins
Hey KISS die-hards..
I want to take a minute to tell you about a new KISS collectible, available from LIBERTY MINT in Provo, Utah: THE 1996-97 ALIVE -WORLDWIDE KISS COMMEMORATIVE COINS. These coins are a must for all KISS fanatics! They are not only a great collectible, but they are also guaranteed to
be a good investment over time, as they are 99.9% pure silver!! The coins feature artwork of each band member, with the KISS saw blade logo on the back. (See the graphics posted on this page to take a look at the coins.) The coins are available in 3 different formats. First, you can purchase each coin individually for @$40.00. They are packaged in a nicely designed card (see graphics) and shrink-wrapped. Second, you can purchase a "Silver-Proof" set, which contains one of each coin, in a black velvet box. The KISS logo is printed in silver on the inside lid of the box. There is also a small KISS booklet included, plus a certificate of authenticity. This set is limited to 2,500 sets worldwide. This set goes for @$200.00. Finally, you can get the coins as a "Gold Select" set. This set contains 1 of each coin, however the KISS logo and the makeup areas of the band are overlayed in Gold. This set is by far the most impressive, and is limited to only 1,000 sets worldwide. You also get a booklet plus a certificate of authenticity. The KISS logo is printed in gold on the inside lid of the box they come in. I strongly suggest that you order your set today, as these coins are moving fast! (Call 1-800-USS-MINT to order & to get an EXACT PRICE. My price list is just approximate.)
KISS Coins Note! (2-17-98)
From: Patrick Kendall
Libery Mint (the company that produced the KISS coins) informed me that the Gold Select set of coins, which is limited to 1,000 sets worldwide is very close to being sold out. This will be one of the first limited edition sets of coins that have sold out! It is very cool to know that KISS fans have been so responsive to the coins! Hurry up and order, as they are nearly gone.
# Thanks, Derek
* Thanks, Patrick Kendall
About the artist, Patrick Kendall
By the way, before I go any farther, let me tell you who I am and what I have to do with these coins. My name is Patrick Kendall- I am the artist that did the initial renderings on the KISS coins. How did I
happen to get the chance to do this? Well, I wish the story was a little more impressive than it is, but I am still very happy to have had the opportunity to become a part of "KISSTORY". As a graphic designer, I have done freelance work for several companies during my career. Early on, when I was still going to college, I was freelancing for a company in Provo, Utah, called LIBERTY MINT. As you know by now, LIBERTY MINT is a coin minting company, and they are easily one of the best mints around. (For an idea of how bad some of the minting companies can be, look at the coins just put out for the 1997 NBA finals.) At any rate, I have freelanced off and on for LIBERTY MINT for about 8 years. Last
year, shortly after KISS had come through Utah (September 5th at the Delta Center), I was contacted by the Art Director at LIBERTY MINT, a guy by the name of Darren Albertson. Darren knew that I was a bigtime KISS fanatic, and he called to ask me if I would be interested in working on a KISS coins project. (It was sort of like asking if the Pope is Catholic!) I was excited to begin with, but I became even more excited when Darren told me that this was going to be an OFFICIAL set of coins, as they were working directly with SONY MUSIC. After a little negotiation, Darren appointed me as the artist to do the pencil drawings for the KISS coins. A couple days later, Darren and I sat down for lunch to look through a rather large stack of KISS magazines & photos to decide on which poses would be used for the drawings.
As you will notice from the coins, the poses are all 3/4 views, rather than a full front view. The reason behind this is that frontal views tend to make the noses look smashed and "pig-like", due to the limited sculpture relief. Let me tell you, it turned into a real chore trying to find a good 3/4
view of Paul Stanley. I have a huge collection of photos and magazines, and we still had a tough time trying to find a good shot of Paul. Finally, we decided on one of the photos from the Alive/Worldwide 96-97 tourbook. It was pretty easy to find the poses for the other members however. After finding the pictures I was to work from, I sat down and tackled the artwork as quickly as I could. The mint was anxious to get the project underway, so I had approximately 1 week to do all the artwork. The first rendering I did was Peter Criss. I was extremely happy with the way his artwork turned out! I submitted it to Darren, and everyone at the mint became quite excited to see how cool the coins were going to look. I then did Gene, then Ace, and again I was quite happy with the results. I didn't spend much more than 3 or 4 hours on any of the renderings, but they were still coming out quite nicely. The Paul
artwork would become a different story! I was really under pressure to try and get Paul done. LIBERTY MINT wanted to get the artwork submitted to KISS as soon as possible, so I told them I would get the Paul rendering to them within a day. I ended up taking an hour long lunch break from my day job, sitting in a booth at an Arby's restaurant, drawing the first artwork of Paul. In a blur, I took the artwork over to Darren, and he had it sent off for approval (or disapproval to KISS.) I had hoped that maybe I would be able to talk directly to KISS about any changes, but as is usually the case with their hectic schedules while on tour, the changes and approval had to go through several different chains. It took a few months before I finally got word back from Darren that all of the artwork had been approved, except for Paulıs. I wasn't surprised to hear it!! After looking over the artwork I had done (see the graphics section) Paul's did look quite bad in comparison to the others. So, I set about doing the revisions. I got a break (if you can call it that) by getting a case of the flu. I missed a few days of work,
so I was able to stay at home and work on the revisions. I drew 2 new versions of Paul and figured I would let LIBERTY MINT decide which art they wanted to use. I liked both pieces I had done quite a bit, so I wasn't disappointed with LIBERTY MINTıs choice. At that point, my role in the creation of the KISS coins was pretty much over. From there, my artwork was scanned in to a computer, then Darren did the design work on the coins, positioning the logo, getting the band members names positioned, and designing the backside of the coins. Darren also did the design work on the cards for the individual coins, as well as designing the booklets for the sets. After the artwork is completed, it is sent to a sculptor, who then sculpts a large round in a plaster-like substance. This round is then used to cast the dies which will mint the coins. Somewhere along the line, Paul requested a few more changes to his new artwork. After the changes were made, the show was finally on the road for the KISS coins.
Sometime in early May, Darren called to tell me that the coins were done. I was quite excited to get a look at them. I was completely blown away when I saw them. It is always cool to see the finished product! I was somewhat disappointed with Paulıs coin. The changes and the sculpting had made him look a little chubby in the face. It wasn't too bad, but if you compare my artwork to the finished coin
(see the graphics section) you will see what I am talking about.
Overall, I think the coins are without a doubt the best KISS coins ever made. Let me know what you think about them. You can E-mail me at:
thundergod@enol.com I would love to hear your comments, good or bad. I also do airbrushed T-shirts and portraits, so if you would like to get some artwork done, please let me know. I will send some of my other work to KISS ASYLUM to have them post it, so you can see what I can do. Don't wait, order your KISS coins TODAY!!!! -Patrick Kendall
