Invaluable legacy

Some friends of the late Frank Gasparro want to make sure the artist’s legacy is engraved in history, much like the designs he created for American currency.

The South Philly native was the 10th person appointed chief engraver for the U.S. Mint and a popular teacher at the Samuel S. Fleisher Art Memorial until his death Sept. 29, 2001, at the age of 92.

In his memory, Gasparro’s longtime friends Harry J. Forman, a rare coin dealer raised in South Philly who now lives in Cheltenham, and Don Carlucci, a coin collector from Pittsburgh, created the Frank Gasparro Memorial Fund.

It will benefit a teaching artist and student from Fleisher, said the art memorial’s executive director, Thora Jacobson. The scholarship will fund a student project by paying for materials and compensating the master for his time spent with the student, she explained.

The first scholarship could be awarded this spring. On Nov. 1, Forman, Carlucci and Jacobson will hold a fundraiser at Penn’s Landing Caterers, 1301 S. Columbus Blvd. Carlucci spearheaded the effort by raising $5,000 through his coin club.

Gasparro and Forman both attended South Philadelphia High School. Gasparro graduated in 1927 and Forman finished in 1940. They are both members of the school’s cultural hall of fame.

They met in 1954. Forman had an exhibit at the Philadelphia Mint for National Coin Week, and he remembers that his collection of assay medals caught the attention of Gasparro.

"He turns around and says, ‘My god, where did you get those?’" said Forman, who had a collection that dated back to the 1800s. Included in the group were several medals Gasparro had designed during the 1940s.

The two were friends from that point on.

"Frank, in my book, was one of the greatest engravers that the Treasury Department ever had," Forman said. He particularly admired Gasparro’s loyalty to the U.S. government.

The Franklin Mint tried to lure Gasparro to the private sector, but the artist would not take the job, even though he could have made more money.

"He was very thrilled to be the chief engraver. I always admired that," Forman said. "He could have made millions at the Franklin Mint, but he didn’t care about the money. He was a known artist all over the world."

Jacobson offered more high praise. Aside from his job at the mint, Gasparro taught at Fleisher for more than 50 years.

"Safely, one could say Frank Gasparro is one of our best products," she said, "and one of our most extraordinary mentors."


Gasparro was born in 1909 in a house at Seventh and Carpenter streets. He was the son of a musician and the grandson of Italian immigrants. By the time he was 15, his family had moved to the 1800 block of South Carlisle Street.

After high school, Gasparro attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Upon graduation, he took a job with the Graphic Sketch Club, 719 Catharine St., founded by art patron Samuel S. Fleisher and later renamed in his honor.

Gasparro began working for the U.S. Mint as a junior engraver in 1942. He made his mark in this country’s currency history 17 years later when his redesign for the back of the penny was selected over 22 competing designs. Gasparro’s scaled-down version of the Lincoln Memorial remains engraved on the back of the penny today.

In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Gasparro chief engraver of the U.S. Mint. The artist held the title until he retired in 1981, and designed numerous coins during his career. Included in his portfolio are the back of the 1964 John F. Kennedy half-dollar that depicted the Seal of the President of the United States, both sides of the Dwight D. Eisenhower dollar coin and the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin. He also sculpted Olympic medals and coins for foreign countries and designed the inaugural medals for presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford and Carter.

Gasparro continued to teach at Fleisher throughout his life, starting with children’s sculpture back in the 1950s and stone and wood carving in later years. The art memorial honored his contributions in 1990 by presenting him with its first Founders Award. The school also named the art studio where Gasparro taught after him.

The artist remained dedicated to Fleisher to the end. Jacobson said he understood the relationship between teaching and learning, and he bonded with his students throughout his life.

"Frank was notorious for having a little black book. It wasn’t of his girlfriends," Jacobson said. "It was of his hundreds of students."

When someone didn’t show up for class two weeks in a row, Gasparro would call him or her and find out why.

Gasparro was still teaching less than two weeks before he died last September.

For more information about the fundraising dinner, call Harry Forman at 215-663-1814 or Thora Jacobson at 215-922-3456. Those interested in making a donation should send a check to: Frank Gasparro Memorial Fund, c/o The Madison Bank, 8000 Verree Road, Philadelphia, Pa. 19111.