Anyone recognize this Gasparro design from this plaster?
coinkid855
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I know Gasparro was prolific, but I couldn't find this design used anywhere. Anyone recognize it?
Thanks for your help guys!
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Maybe the FG is for Flash Gordon.
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It's amazing how many things are almost impossible to find references for.
I've been thinking it would be great to have a catalog of all of Gasparro's work. I have a few pieces of his that I can't trace. It would be great if all artists had catalogs like Dan Carr.
Here's a piece from Bernard von NotHaus, of Liberty Dollar fame. I was surprised that I can't find any information on this either.
Well I assume this plaster is perhaps a design for something that was never made. But I have a few more and they all seem to match designs that were actually implemented. I was just thinking I hadn't found it yet.
It sure would be nice if there was a catalog to look at!
Do you own that? If so, that's very cool!
I do! I have a few really nice ones.
Sweet!
With such a collection, it might be cool for you to create a Gasparro reference.
That would be cool, but I wouldn't even know where to begin!!
Any easy way would be to convince @RogerB to write one using your collection
Definitely not an FEV
The OP might consider trying to contact the people running this Smithsonian website:
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object-groups/art-of-frank-gasparro-10th-united-states-mint-chief-engraver
http://www.shieldnickels.net
I might just do that, thanks! I do have a plaster of the eagle from "Sketch of Proposed Reverse for New Dollar Coin" it seems which is interesting. I think it was used on the Pennsylvania Numismatic Society logo too.
That eagle was created by Gasparro for the Philadelphia Bicentennial:
The Pennsylvania Association of Numismatists (PAN) uses the same eagle and notes the same:
https://pancoins.org/product/pan-logo-medal/
They appear to be very proud of Gasparro as they use it a lot! Here's their membership card and show ad:
There were multiple eagle designs intended for the Ike dollar and a revised small dollar. (One idea intended to get the small dollars to circulate was to change the reverse design. Another was to make the coin a different color.) The 1981 plaster plaque design comes from 1968 with multiple variations. It was deemed "too aggressive" by Treasury and Mint.
Good to know @RogerB! Are there any attributable quotes saying it was too aggressive?
Yes. I'll see if I can locate them in my files. This was also reported in Coin Word.
Cool!! Thanks for the research help, I really appreciate it!
Here's another couple designs. The Gasparro one was used on a 1985 Bowers medal which I have been looking for an example of, and the Columbus design was used on a Bahamas coin, although slightly modified.
I also have an amazing US Mint one I'll try to find a photo of.
Here's the Mint one, @RogerB
Those are amazing. How do you store them? I would be constantly worried they would be damaged. Cheers, RickO
Any thoughts on why he used such low relief on the medallic designs?
[Disclaimer - I've never seen a Gasparro design I liked. But, I'm willing to be surprised.]
Assuming the date on the plaster is close to the date he created it, Mr. Gasparro would have been about 90 years old when he made this. We all should be so healthy!
I couldn't find anything on NNP or in the E-Sylum archive.
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Very carefully. Me too!
Hmm, I'm not sure. Some of them might have been for coin designs though. I know the Columbus one was.
OK. That explains the Columbus one. (As to the design itself, flags are fluttering in the correct direction. The soldier is wrong; they did not wear steel helmets at sea - they would rust in a matter of days - steel was packed in oiled sawdust. Whoever spotted land was in the "crow's nest" not on deck. The layout uses multiple radii for text and images so the whole thing looks stuck together -- maybe it's a sketch model....?)
[An irrelevant aside --- sawdust on ships carrying colonists was often soaked in olive oil. Once the colony landed, most of this was shoveled to shore, the oil pressed out and used for cooking. I doubt this would be approved by the Michelin Guide or even Anthony Bourdaine.]
Maybe. I'm thinking they're all perhaps rough drafts or something. The Statue of Liberty one was used on small of ounce private rounds and seems just about the same as the final product though. Same with the self portrait.
That's pretty gross...
Here's the final Columbus design.
Well, the coin appears to be very close to the model, so it appears you have an almost final version in your collection! Great!
[The model appears to be a complete final version prepared for customer comment and modification. That was normal in the business. You might want to send some of these photos to esylum for more detailed comments, especially from Dick Johnson.]
That's pretty awesome! I will try to get in contact with Dick. Here's a couple other photos which show that the Statue of Liberty and self portrait designs also appear to be final versions.
A set of Statue of Liberty Centennial medals is available online now:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Statue-of-Liberty-Centennial-Collection-Gasparro-Proof-Silver-Medal-Set/201823051531
Yup, I have one of those sets. Although I don't have the original packaging.
I was finally able to pick up one of these from Europe! Still looking for the Gasparro medal from Bowers.
Eagles are way too aggressive.
I suggest the ostrich which buries its head in the sand when things get tough.
Surely, THAT wouldn't offend.
Interesting post....Thank you
That is an amazing collection. It like a museum.
Best place to buy !
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I better check out of this discussion. I don't even like that they switched the arrows to the LEFT talon on the early bust dollars.
Thanks for the quote reminder. I don;t have anything in my files, but I recall reading several mentions of this in Coin World back when the design was first introduced. Maybe there's something on NNP?
Cool stuff! Now I'm wondering if the Ike dollar was a self-portrait.
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So damn much history in coins that is just unbelievable. Great post.
bob
+1. What talent and a remarkable collection.
The design in the original post is reminiscent of another medal that Gasparro worked on with Gilroy Roberts. Gasparro created the bust of Vice Admiral Rickover for his first Congressional Gold Medal, and I’m just now realizing that I didn’t illuminate his signature in this shot, but it’s there in the shadows. Roberts did the reverse, and as you can see it has a similar motif as the Gasparro model.
Radiant Collection: Numismatics and Exonumia of the Atomic Age.
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/showcase/3232
A Q. David Bowers article about Frank Gasparro and some medals he designed will be published in Coin Update next week. I was talking with Dave this morning and he told me, "Frank was a very close friend of mine and was in constant contact, as I mentioned in my book on modern dollars."
Just a bit of an update: I still have not been able to find this Aiming to the Future motif on any actual coin. Perhaps it was never used?
This one:
You have a very Impressive collection, something to be Proud of not many can say that!
While I am sure you have a safe container for these items, what do you do for moisture control? Wouldn't that be a big issue for plaster? Never had one so I'm not speaking from experience, but I have seen damaged plaster items in old houses I used to go through at estate auctions. Most were hanging on walls or lying on counter tops. The damage appeared to be moisture damage. Just curious.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
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Oh my gosh! You found it! Thanks so much! Please let me know if it's for sale.
Paul
Thanks so much!
The ones that are small enough I put into shadow boxes. The larger ones are just in bubble wrap. All are just in an armoire for now, but in a temperature controlled house, of course. I haven't noticed any issues in the few years I've had them.
Paul