In this gallery are collected some of the earliest known pieces from the development of the popular Power of the Force coin line. Each of the pieces displayed here is a reproduction of an original sketch, made to outline the character images and text eventually incorporated into the aluminum coins. It's probable that they were made by an artist working under contract to Kenner, and then sent back to the toy company for approval and modification. Some bear hand-written markings indicating that they were sent to Lucasfilm for review by the licensor. Several also are inscribed with dates, which place this work in early 1984, a time during with the Return of the Jedi era was fast drawing to a close.
When these sketches were made, it's likely that a 1.25-inch diameter was still the scale at which Kenner planned to produce their coins (the released coins measured 1.5 inches in diameter). Moreover, it's probable that the design of the coins' reverse side had not yet been settled on. Both of these assumptions are rooted in the presence among these sketches of a piece that appears to represent the reverse of the small Luke X-Wing prototype coin, an early production test for the line and thus the first aluminum coin sent back to Kenner. It's possible that, at this stage in the game, Kenner was planning to produce the coins with a quasi-generic reverse side, featuring a bust of Yoda, the name of the character and the words May the Force by with you.
The early designs seen here are not without their revelations regarding the development of the coin line. Several reflect changes that were later made either to the imagery or the descriptive text running along both the upper and lower edges of the coin disks. The designs for the Boba Fett and Darth Vader coins, for instance, feature character images that differ radically from those that were eventually pressed in aluminum. As you will find when you sort through the below images, several others reveal changes to the image backgrounds and other small details.
But without a doubt, the most amazing piece included in this cache of sketches concerns the legendary Gargan. A robust, six-breasted dancer seen inhabiting the palace of Jabba the Hutt in Return of the Jedi, Gargan was proposed by Kenner for production as an action figure. But Lucasfilm firmly refused to allow the release of such a risque toy. Although prototypes of the Gargan figure have been known by collectors for years, this is the first time an image of its accompanying coin design has been published. It's definitely a great piece to see.
In some ways, this Special Feature is a continuation of our previous Feature focusing on the overall development of the POTF coin line, and it should be taken in conjuction with that article. This Feature, entitled "A Coin is Born", can be found here. Those interested in similar material should also take a look at our gallery devoted to coin prototypes.
All of the images displayed here were graciously donated to the Archive by editor James Gallo, the person who made this intriguing find. James is an avid collector of POTF coins and prototypes and an employee of the esteemed Cloud City Collectibles in Norcross, Georgia. He may be reached via e-mail at JGallony@aol.com.
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