On the face of these coins, Shakespeare's face is divided between life and death, like a vanity that recalls the famous "to be or not to be" of Hamlet. The left side of the face adopts the features of Shakespeare wearing a fool's hat. The right side is a skull under a crown. The continuity between the two hats suggests that the diamonds in the crown have turned into the bells of the fool, referring to the futility of life that Shakespeare evokes in his plays. The reverse side is common to the entire The Art of the pen series.