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well as the image of
Lincoln seated in the monument, making it the first American coin to have the same likeness on both sides of the coin. Gasparro would often tell cashiers that he was a sculptor, and when asked where to find his work, he would reply, "It's in your pocket." By the time of his death, Gasparro's design had appeared on the more than 100 billion pennies produced by the Mint.
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to copy photos, tracing paper to trace the shape, and transferred his designs to sketch paper. From there, he continued to make more sketches based on his subjects, and with each of them, added certain features, such as crowns, helmets, arrows, etc to the subject. Then a final sketch of the design would be created to serve as a reference to the mold.
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leader, one at age 28 and the other when she was 84. He initially chose the portrait of the younger
Anthony, but widespread consensus was that the design made her look too pretty. His design using the older photo was accepted. While Gasparro felt that the Anthony dollar was his "top achievement", the
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Gasparro designed his coins by finding subjects, such as objects, animals, and people from various newspaper clippings, photographs, magazines, and books. Most of his sketches are based on one of two designs – Lady
Liberty or eagles and each sketch was different from the last. He used a Xerox copier
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produced by the Mint from 1909 to 1958. His original design included the words "Lincoln
Memorial" and 13 stars around the rim of the coin, which he removed at the request of staff at the Mint. Despite the complaints of his superiors, the design retained his initials to the right of the monument as
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and traveled to Europe with the aid of scholarships that allowed him to refine his craft. Friends close to
Gasparro had serious suspicion regarding close ties he established to organized crime while in Italy but he routinely denied any connection. John Edgar Hoover, Director of the FBI during
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on August 26, 1909. His musician father wanted his son to continue in the family profession and would rip up drawings he made out of frustration. His father ultimately relented and had
Gasparro apprentice under sculptor Giuseppe Donato, who had earlier worked for
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Gasparro's tenure at the Mint, was often suspicious of
Gasparro's intentions. Hoover was concerned Gasparro was being influenced by an Italian crime family in the town of Bari to design coins with details easily counterfeited by Italian Crime families.
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After his retirement from the mint he continued to design medals for both private and public groups. He also taught art at
Philadelphia's Samuel S. Fleisher Art Memorial until shortly before his death.
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Image of the reverse of the
Lincoln cent used from 1959 to 2008, showing the Lincoln memorial with Lincoln seated at the center and Gasparro's initials to the right of the monument.
377:. He was survived by his wife, Julia, and a daughter. A large population of individuals related to Gasparro through his brother Lawrence can be found in northeast Ohio.
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158:. Gasparro graduated from South Philadelphia High School in 1927 and has been inducted into the SPHS Alumni Cultural Hall of Fame. He attended the
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and numerous foreign coins produced by the Mint. One of his best known works was the obverse of the
Congressional gold medal for
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203:. Gasparro's design was selected from a group of 23 designs prepared by the Mint's engraving staff to replace the
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Only the obverse of this coin was engraved by Gasparro. The reverse was engraved by Dennis R. Williams.
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As the Mint's Chief Engraver from 1965 to 1981, Gasparro also created designs for the reverse of the
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coin was largely rejected by the public, which complained that the coin was too similar to the
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Gasparro was hired by the United States Mint in December 1942 under Chief Engraver
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425:"Remembering a Master Engraver: Frank Gasparro's Legacy Circulating Worldwide"
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129:(with the exception of the Bicentennial issues of 1975–1976), the
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499:"Art of Frank Gasparro: 10th United States Mint Chief Engraver"
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340:, along with the presidential medals for all Presidents from
406:"Frank Gasparro, 92, of Mint; Art Is on 100 Billion Pennies"
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Frank Gasparro: US Chief Engraver Archives and Sketches
117:(August 26, 1909 – September 29, 2001) was the tenth
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in front of the Moon, country name, face value and
137:(minted from 1959 to 2008), and the reverse of the
373:Gasparro died at age 92 on September 29, 2001, in
195:as part of the 150th anniversary of the birth of
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715:Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts alumni
532:Streaming video by David Lisot Video Library
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414:, October 3, 2001. Accessed August 15, 2010.
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318:seal of the president of the United States
100:Susan B. Anthony Dollar, Lady Liberty Coin
603:Chief Engravers of the United States Mint
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250:year (1776) and year of minting (1976).
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119:Chief Engraver of the United States Mint
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160:Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
81:Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
441:The Story of the Kennedy Half Dollar
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296:Asked to produce a design for the
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183:Frank Gasparro Historical Marker
554:Chief Engraver of the U.S. Mint
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149:Gasparro was born in
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264:(Out of many, one).
145:Birth and early life
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539:Government offices
314:Kennedy half dollar
288:and reverse of the
139:Kennedy half dollar
679:vacant (2010–2019)
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469:2010-06-03 at the
452:United States Mint
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62:September 29, 2001
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334:Douglas MacArthur
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215:Eisenhower dollar
201:Philadelphia Mint
127:Eisenhower Dollar
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322:E pluribus unum
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96:Notable work
64:(2001-09-29)
51:Pennsylvania
47:Philadelphia
730:2001 deaths
725:1909 births
338:Sam Rayburn
167:Mint career
699:Categories
558:1965–1981
381:References
365:Later life
350:John Wayne
286:(pictured)
238:portrait,
236:Eisenhower
205:Wheat cent
87:Occupation
39:1909-08-26
639:C. Barber
634:W. Barber
356:Technique
674:Mercanti
659:Gasparro
629:Longacre
624:Gobrecht
467:Archived
444:Archived
246:on top,
105:Children
90:Sculptor
654:Roberts
649:Sinnock
423:Staff.
254:Reverse
244:Liberty
232:Obverse
644:Morgan
619:Kneass
336:, and
53:, U.S.
664:Jones
614:Scot
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59:Died
29:Born
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