Author: cumhuriyetparalari

Percy Metcalfe (1895 ~ 1970)

Percy Metcalfe
Percy Metcalfe, CVO, RDI,
Photo by Bassano Ltd  © National Portrait Gallery, London

His name is first mentioned in Turkish numismatics literature as “Sculptor of the London Mint; Mr. Medkaley“ in the 1955 Catalogue by Turkish numismatist and actor Behzad Butak.

Behzat Butak quotes “Mister Medkaley” from a proceedings report of GNAT (Grand National Assembly of Türkiye) from 1944.

(While the forms of the new Republican gold coins were being discussed, Finance Minister Fuat Ağralı elaborates that Metcalfe was invited for the effigy of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and that he also made an effigy of İsmet İnönü. Upon criticism on why a foreigner was tasked to create the president’s effigy, Metcalfe’s skillset as a coin engraver is emphasised) His name is misspelled most probably due to a transliteration error.

Royal Mint’s involvement with the Turkish coins, dates back to 1933. In September of that year, Deputy Master and Controller of the Royal Mint, Sir Robert Johnson visited Istanbul and the capital Ankara. He had learned that the Turkish Gov’t was planning of minting new coins with the new alphabet, hence he offered Royal Mint’s services to the Turkish Government. But was not successful in securing an order for minting the new coins. However, the relations between the two mints remained active and Percy Metcalfe visited Turkey in 1935 (*Royal Mint Annual Report of 1934, Page 17).

He was meant to produce an effigy of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, however he was requested to work on designs for the whole set of six coins.

Turkish circulation coins that bear Metcalfe’s designs:

  • 50 Kuruş 1935 ~1937
  • 25 Kuruş 1935 ~1946 (The 25 Kr pieces minted between 1944 to 1946 retained the same reverse as Metcalfe designed, however their obverse was changed to a crescent and star)
  • 10 Kuruş 1935 ~1940
  • 5 Kuruş 1935 ~1943
  • 1 Kuruş 1935 ~1944 (after 1938, these coins were converted into an undulated form)
  • 1 Lira 1937 ~ 1939
  • 1 Lira 1940 ~ 1941

Metcalfe’s family donated some of his work to the British Museum. Among those, there are the early drafts of the 1935 coins’ designs:

https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/AUTH232341

1935 10, 5 ve 1 Kuruş Tura yüzü deseni.© The Trustees of the British Museum
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/image/1613746593 © The Trustees of the British Museum
100 Kuruş 1935 taslak Deseni© The Trustees of the British Museum
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/image/1613746587 © The Trustees of the British Museum
100 Kuruş 1935 taslak© The Trustees of the British Museum
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/image/1613746592 © The Trustees of the British Museum
1 Lira 1935 Taslak deseni© The Trustees of the British Museum
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/image/1613746588 © The Trustees of the British Museum
50 Kuruş 1935 taslak deseni© The Trustees of the British Museum
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/image/1613746581 © The Trustees of the British Museum
25 Kuruş 1935 taslak deseni© The Trustees of the British Museum
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/image/1613746589 © The Trustees of the British Museum
5 Kuruş 1935 desen taslağı, © The Trustees of the British Museum
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/image/1613746590 © The Trustees of the British Museum

The newspapers of the period, indicate that several coin designs were considered at the time. 50 Kr piece was initially a variant of the 1934 100 Kr piece by Ali Cemal Bey. However, eventually Metcalfe’s designs were used; probably for consistency within the set.

 

RMAC papers of the Royal Mint have a record of a 1 Lira model depicting a stylized art-deco wolf from 1935. Around that time, the denomination of 100 Kurus was being changed as 1 Lira.

The models of the said design are kept by the Royal Mint Museum archives. Records show that it was criticised in-house (RMAC Papers dated 31/10/1935) and was minted only in a couple of samples for the evaluation.

Grey Wolf was indeed a Turkish symbol and was used on some of the first banknotes. It was even considered to be a main figure as an emblem for the Turkish Republic. However, Atatürk rejected that idea, hence such coins were never minted.

Royal Mint Annual Report of 1938 also mentions (*page 16) that Metcalfe won a contest for the new gold coins’ design but Sir Johnson states that he believes after Ataturk’s death those coins would probably not be minted.

Yet, Royal Mint Museum holds models of the effigy of İsmet İnönü (second president of the Turkish Republic), and the gold and silver coins minted after 1940 bear that effigy by Metcalfe.

 

Form comparison between 1938 second type 1 Kr and Egyptian 5 Milliemmes

1 Kurus pieces minted between 1938 and 1944, were in an undulated form so that they wouldn’t be confused with the silver 25 Kr pieces of the same diameter. Said coins resemble the coins of Iraq and Egypt, which were made by Metcalfe. This could be interpreted as the cooperation between the British and the Turkish Mints was still active at the time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Percy Metcalfe, served in the Royal Mint from 1924 to 1948. Effigies of King George VI and many other nations’ rulers were his handywork. among his most famous were the Barnyard Set made for Free Irish State.

As a new dominion, Free Irish State considered having its own currency. For this purpose, an international competition was held in 1926. among 66 submissions, Metcalfe’s designs were selected. The animals, which some are related to hunting and some to farming, were assigned face value based on their status; the horse being the noblest and the woodcock being the humblest.

At first there was significant criticism that a nation seeking independence from the English rule is now going forward with coins “designed by an Englishman, denominated in the English way, and made at the English mint“. However, as Nobel laureate Yeats puts it “the coins have been designed to please those who look longer at each coin than anybody else; artists and children”, hence they were universally admired.

 

Coin set of Free Irish State; woodcock (farthing), pig and piglets (halfpenny), hen and chicks (penny), hare (threepence), wolfhound (sixpence), bull (shilling), salmon (florin) and horse (half crown). Collectively known as the Barnyard Collection

During his time at the Royal Mint, with the reputation he gained from the Free Irish State coinage and the support from Sir Robert Johnson, Percy Metcalfe produced many models for various countries. Some of these are; Mihai the 1st of Romania, Boris the 3rd of Bulgaria, Faisal and Ghazi of Iraq, Fuad and Farouq of Egypt, Demeter and Poseidon portraits on the Greek coins of 1930.

 

Article main photo; Percy Metcalfe working on plaster model of Boris the 3rd of Bulgaria Photo: HenryMooreInstitute

*We would like to thank World of Coins forum users <k>, africancoins and forum admin Peter Kraneveld for providing the fundamental lead on Percy Metcalfe’s contributions to the Turkish coins and also David Mason, Public Engagement & Information Officer and other staff of the Royal Mint Museum who provided invaluable information on Metcalfe’s work within their archives.

Architect Nurettin

Was one of the winning contestants of the coin design competition of 1934, organized for the cupronickel small change.

His models for the reverse were chosen but not realized.

For the obverse of the coins, Mazhar Nazım Resmor‘s submission was chosen but not realized.

Minting the new coins could not be realized in 1934 and as relations with the Royal Mint deepened, Percy Metcalfe‘s designs were used on the coinage of 1935.

One of the coins minted commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Republic is listed to be the artwork of a Nureddin from 1933. It is highly probable that it is the same person.

 

 

Mazhar Nazım Resmor (1901 ~ 1977)

Mazhar Nazım was one of the winning contestants of the coin design competition of 1934, organized for the cupronickel small change.

His models for the obverse were chosen but not realized.

Mazhar Nazım studied arts in Academy of Fine Arts and later masted on stained glass at the Decorative Arts Institute of Paris. After his return to Türkiye in 1933, he taught arts and crafts at Applied Fine Arts High School and Institute of Fine Arts for Girls (*source – TR).

 

 

For the reverse of the coins, Architect Nurettin‘s submission was chosen but not realised.

Minting the new coins could not be realized in 1934 and as relations with the Royal Mint deepened, Percy Metcalfe‘s designs were used on the coinage of 1935.

Ali Cemal

Ali Cemal was the designer of the 1934 100 Kurus silver coins.

He submitted his work to the contest organized in 1934 for the new coins with the new alphabet. Although his models initially won second place in the jury’s decision, they were also sent to the capital for further consideration. Eventually his models were used for the 100 Kuruş pieces.

 

 

 

Nermin Faruki (1914 ~1991)

Nermin Faruki is among the first women sculptors of the Turkish Republic(*1). She submitted models for the coin design contest of 1934 and after the competition ended, she criticised the selected designs for not being contemporary. Her and Artist Ali Cemal’s comments were published in the newspapers of the period.

She attended Arts School for Girls (İnas Sanayi-i Nefise Mektebi, *16, p. 523, 546) and later Academy of Fine Arts. Continued her sculpture education in Germany, Berlin Fine Arts Academy. Her initial works show traces of German neo-Classicism, and various other trends at later stages. Her most prominent artwork is “the head of Sculptor Hadi”, on display at the Istanbul Museum of Painting and Sculpture (IMPS) (*38, p. 110).

She was married to Nejat Sirel, who was also a sculptor himself. Their joint artworks are also displayed at IMPS.

As a result of the design competition for circulation coins of 1934, the jury awarded first place to Mesrur İzzet Bey for his effigy of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, and to Vedat Ömer Ar for his design of the 100 Kurus reverse.

After the announcement, two contestants, Nermin Faruki and Ali Cemal wrote to Cumhuriyet Newspaper and their statements and designs were published on 29/08/1934. Nermin Faruki was criticising the jury of not being contemporary enough, and Ali Cemal for his submission envelope being returned opened. Eventually Ali Cemal’s models were used for the silver 100 Kr pieces.

 

[1] İnas ve Sanayi-i Nefise Mektebi’nin İlk Kadım Heykeltraşları – Derya Uzun Aydın, Turkish Studies; International Periodical For the Languages, Literature and History of Turkish or Turkic, Vol. 9/10 Fall 2014

Vedat Ömer Ar (1907 ~ 2001)

Vedat Ömer Ar was tone of the first place winners of the contest organized for 100 Kuruş 1934.

His model for the reverse of the coin won first place. For the obverse, the effigy of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk made by Mesrur İzzet Bey was selected by the jury. Both were awarded 1000 Lira each. However, the second place models were also sent to Ankara for consideration and eventually the models of the Artist Ali Cemal Bey were selected for the coins.

Vedat Ömer Ar, studied graphics in the Fine Arts Academy (today named Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts) and was sent to France for further education after his graduation. Upon his return, he tought at the Academy as a contemporary of Prof. Emin Barın and Namık Bayık who have also designed cons for the State Mint.

Ayaktakiler, soldan: Edip Hakkı, Emin Barın, Namık Bayık, Gevher Bozkurt, Günseli Başar, Sabih Gözen, Bilge Hanım, Hayati Gökay, Aktan Bey, Ramiz Bey.Oturanlar, soldan; Vedat Ar, Necmettin Hoca, Kenan Tenizan, Zeki Faik İzer, Tahirzade...
Standing, left-to-right: Edip Hakkı, Emin Barın, Namık Bayık, Gevher Bozkurt, Günseli Başar, Sabih Gözen, Bilge Hanım, Hayati Gökay, Aktan Bey, Ramiz Bey. Seated; left-to-right; Vedat Ar, Necmettin Hoca, Kenan Tenizan, Zeki Faik İzer, Tahirzade… (Seramik Dünyası Magazine, March & April issue of 1996. p19 the article about Vedat Ar by Hande Kura

He studied ceramics making in France and after his return, he became a professor at the Academy. Later he worked in stage decoration, animation, advertisement and documentary production. Died on 12 March 2001.

Vedat Ömer monogram, made of his initials and forms an owl

Some of his works are exhibited at the Painting and Sculpture Museum of Istanbul

İstanbul Resim Heykel Müzesindeki “Balık” adlı eseri

Bogos Tarkulyan

Bogos Tarkulyan was the photographer whose work is the basis for the Atatürk portraits used on first emission 50, 100, 500 and 1.000 Lira banknotes of 1927. The portraits were eventually made by Ali Sami Boyar based on the photos taken at Phebus Photography Studio (*1, *2).

[1] Belki Beni Tanıyamayacaksın: Lesser known photos and memoirs of Atatürk from Ömer Koç Collection

[2] Çekimden Sonra Hayat – Bogos Tarkulyan

 

page cover photo; Salt Araştırma, Engin Özendes Koleksiyonu

Calligrapher Ahmet Bey

Calligrapher Ahmet was the creator of the texts on the first banknotes of the Turkish Republic. He used different calligraphy styles such as Diwani, Ruq’ah, Thuluth, Naskh, Taliq on different denominations of the banknotes that were printed in 1927 in London by the De la Rue printhouse.

The drawings of the banknotes were the handiwork of the painter Ali Sami Boyar, State Mint engraver Ismail Hasim was also among the team that was sent to London. *1.

 

[1] Cumhuriyet Gazetesine Göre Türkiye Cumhuriyeti’nin İlk Kâğıt Paralarının Basım Serüveni, Melek Öksüz, Tarih Dergisi – Turkish Journal of History, 81 (2023/3): 63-120

 

* Click here for the list of artists whose handiwork has contributed to Turkish Republic’s currency.

Engraver Ismail Hasim

Ismail Hasim was one of the Turkish State Mint engravers who was sent to London in 1927 to assist with the newly printed Turkish Banknotes at Thomas de la Rue. He and calligrapher Ahmet was among the team sent along Ali Sami Boyar (*1).

 

[1] The story of the first Banknotes of the Turkish Republic, told through the articles of Cumhuriyet Newspaper (Cumhuriyet Gazetesine Göre Türkiye Cumhuriyeti’nin İlk Kâğıt Paralarının Basım Serüveni, Melek Öksüz, Tarih Dergisi – Turkish Journal of History, 81 (2023/3): 63-120

 

* Click here for the list of artists who contributed to Turkish Republic’s currency.

Ali Sami Boyar (1880 ~1967)

Ali Sami Boyar is the designer of the first emission banknotes released in 1927 (*5 Sf.6).

He studied arts during middle school and later at the Naval Academy. He graduated the Naval Academy in 1901 and while working for the Navy, enrolled to Fine Arts School which he graduated in 1908.

In 1925, he won the contest for the first stamps of the Republic. Later in his career, while he was managing the Museum of Endowments (today Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum), he was appointed to produce the designs for the first banknotes of the republic.

He was sent to London to oversee the printing process along with the State Mint engraver İsmail Haşim and some other officials. The inscriptions on the banknotes were made by Calligrapher Ahmet in different font styles, so that it would be easier for the public to recognize different denominations. *1. The portrait on the 1000, 500 and 100 Lira banknotes was based on Atatürk’s photo taken at the Phebus Photo Studio by Bogos Tarkulyan(*2).

The series consisting of 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500 and 1.000 Lira denominations was printed in London Thomas de la Rue Printhouse.

 

The symbolism of the banknotes included Grey Wolf, Crescent and star, the new parliament in Ankara. The texts were still in the Turkish Arabic syntax and in traditional and partly kufic fonts.

Sources:

[1]Story of The Printing of The First Banknotes of the Turkish Republic According to The Daily Cumhuriyet, Melek Öksüz, Tarih Dergisi – Turkish Journal of History, 81 (2023/3): 63-120

[2] Belki Beni Tanıyamayacaksın: Lesser known photos and memoirs of Atatürk from Ömer Koç Collection

[3] Koleksiyon.org; article by Koray Tekay (“from an article from the book “75 Yılda Para’nın Serüveni” (adventures of our money in the last 75 years))

Some detailed biographies of the airtist (Turkish):