Sandra Deiana, a prize in Rome for the coin designer of Settimo San Pietro
From his inspiration was born the Britannia 2022, the latest and historic commemorative coin with Queen Elizabeth II on the reverse
The Standout Woman Award , which the artist from Settimo San Pietro, Sandra Deiana , will receive this afternoon in Montecitorio , bears witness to the professional prestige of the thirty-two-year-old Sardinian "coin designer" , from whose inspiration was born what, just a few months after the issue, was already destined to be the last, historic commemorative coin with Queen Elizabeth II on the reverse .
We are talking about Britannia 2022 , a limited edition coin, in gold or silver, which the Royal Mint of the United Kingdom issues every year to celebrate the nation and which, instead, has given Sandra Deiana a place in history.
«And to think that, while I was working on it, I had had the blank sheet syndrome for a long time, then one day, suddenly, inspiration had arrived and, a few hours later, watching the news, I had discovered that it was the queen's birthday ».
FROM THE QUEEN TO THE KING – Sovereigns change but not Sandra, who in 2023 will churn out another coin , "of which I cannot reveal the details", this time with the effigy of Charles III on the back . "Working for the Royal Mint is an honor, it is one of the most prestigious mints in the world together with the US, who knows..." comments Deiana. « I am inspired by Benedetto Pistrucci , an artist who became chief engraver of the royal mint 150 years ago, his splendid "Saint George and the dragon" is still minted today».
Meanwhile, today, the Sardinian designer will receive international recognition intended for female figures with special talents or involved in significant actions. «I am very excited and I thank Dr. Anna Maria Gandolfi, who invited me to apply for this award, and the institutions that made it possible. When I embarked on my career as a coin designer, I never thought I'd receive recognition from Montecitorio, the place where Italian coins are decreed in the form of law. I am honored to have been considered worthy of it, it is not a goal but an incentive to continue ».
Sandra, who after an interlude at the Academy of Fine Arts trained for 6 years at the Medal Art School of the Italian State Mint and then in the USA with Heidi Wastweet and Alicia Ponzio, has never forgotten her teacher Graziella , « he understood that I loved drawing» and the portrait competitions with his sister Silvia , «she too, coincidentally, an artist». And he does not forget the most important thanks either, "to my parents and my teachers".
Vanna Chessa
