Frank Gasparro (1909-2001)
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Designer of the reverse side of the Lincoln Penny and, with Gilroy Roberts, the Kennedy half-dollar. Born & educated in classical art in Philadelphia, Gasparro was first employed as a junior engraver by the U.S. Mint in 1942. By 1965 he was appointed by President Lyndon Johnson as the 10th Chief Engraver. Designed numerous coins and medals, including, the Eisenhower & Susan B. Anthony dollar.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Frank Gasparro, born and trained in classical art in Philadelphia, joined the U.S. Mint as a junior engraver in 1942 and rose to become its 10th Chief Engraver in 1965. His designs are among the most widely handled art in America: the reverse of the Lincoln penny, and, with Gilroy Roberts, the Kennedy half-dollar. He also shaped the Eisenhower and Susan B. Anthony dollars, among many other coins and medals.
Why it matters
Gasparro's engravings turned everyday pocket change into a shared national gallery, making one Philadelphia artist's work familiar to virtually every American.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
Frank Gasparro was born in Philadelphia in 1909 and came of age in a city with deep traditions in the arts and in craftsmanship. He was trained in classical art here — the disciplined study of form, proportion, and the human figure that underlies the old art of sculpting in relief.
That training led him, in 1942, to the United States Mint, where he began as a junior engraver. The Mint is one of the oldest institutions of the American republic, charged with turning metal into the coinage that passes through every hand in the country. To engrave for the Mint is to practice fine art at the smallest possible scale, for the widest possible audience.
Gasparro's career spanned the middle decades of the twentieth century, through the Progressive and postwar eras — a time when American coins carried not just value but national memory, commemorating presidents and ideals in miniature.
People & events
Gasparro rose through the ranks, and in 1965 President Lyndon Johnson appointed him the tenth Chief Engraver of the United States Mint. It was the culmination of a long climb from that junior post two decades earlier — from a young Philadelphian with a classical art education to the steward of the nation's coinage.
His designs are among the most widely handled works of art in America. He created the reverse of the Lincoln cent, and, working with Gilroy Roberts, the Kennedy half-dollar — a coin struck in a moment of national grief and carried in pockets across the country.
He went on to design numerous coins and medals, including the Eisenhower dollar and the Susan B. Anthony dollar. Each of these is a small public monument: a portrait or an emblem, carefully composed, then multiplied by the millions and sent out into everyday life.
Its place in the American story
There is a quiet grandeur to Gasparro's work. Most great art is seen by comparatively few people, in museums or private collections. His art passed through nearly every American's hands, jingling in pockets and stacking up on counters — a national gallery made of pocket change.
The coins he shaped also carry American history in compact form: a beloved president, a fallen one mourned by a nation, a general turned commander-in-chief, and a pioneering advocate for women's rights. In choosing and rendering those subjects, the Mint and its engravers helped decide which faces and ideals Americans would literally carry with them.
That a single Philadelphia artist, trained in classical technique, should have authored so much of this shared visual vocabulary is a remarkable thing. His career is a reminder that the machinery of government employs artists, and that their work can become part of the texture of ordinary life.
If you visit
This marker celebrates an artist whose work you have almost certainly held without knowing his name. That's the charm of stopping here: check your pocket or your car's cupholder, and you may be holding a piece of Gasparro's legacy right now.
Standing at this Philadelphia landmark, it's worth reflecting on the scale of his reach — from a local art education to designs multiplied into the billions. Few artists can claim an audience so vast or so unassuming.
If you're exploring Philadelphia's long history as a center of American craft and institutions, this stop pairs naturally with the city's deep ties to the nation's founding machinery. Bring a coin along, look closely at the design, and let it connect the art in your hand to the man who made it.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Museums & culture
- Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial0.6 mi away
- Hill-Physick House0.6 mi away · 321 South 4th Street
- Powel House0.8 mi away · 244 South 3rd Street
- Bridgette Mayer0.8 mi away · 709 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Congress Hall0.9 mi away · Philadelphia, PA
- Philosophical Hall0.9 mi away · PA
Attractions
- Italian market0.2 mi away · Christian Street
- Second Bank of the United States0.9 mi away · 420 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Carpenters' Hall0.9 mi away · 320 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- USS Becuna0.9 mi away · South Christopher Columbus Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA
- USS Olympia0.9 mi away · South Christopher Columbus Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA
- Liberty Bell0.9 mi away · 526 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
Food & drink
- Talula's Garden0.7 mi away · 210 West Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA
- Talula's Daily0.7 mi away · 208 West Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA
- Fat Salmon0.8 mi away · 719 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Cafe Walnut0.8 mi away · 703 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Maya's Pizza & Grill0.8 mi away · 716 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Thank You Thank You Coffee Roasters0.8 mi away · 700 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, PA
Places to stay
- Alexander Inn0.7 mi away · 301 301 South 12th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, Philadelphia, PA
- Morris House Hotel0.7 mi away · 225 South 8th Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Fairfield Inn & Suites0.8 mi away · 261 South 13th Street, Philadelphia, PA
- AKA Washington Square0.8 mi away · 834 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Philadelphia Center City0.9 mi away · 237 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Philadelphia Marriott Old City0.9 mi away · 1 Dock Street, Philadelphia, PA
Places data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hours and details change — call ahead.
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Related people
- · Frank Gasparro
- · Gilroy Roberts
- · Lyndon Johnson
Themes & tags
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