Tag: William Fraser Ford

Artists whose designs were used on Turkish currency

We compiled the list of artists who created the designs of the coins and banknotes of Republic of Türkiye.

Most of the coins were produced by artists employed by the Mint, and most of the banknotes by the engravers of the Central Bank’s Banknote Print, yet in the early periods of the Republic, foreign experts were consulted and the works of artists participating in occasional competitions have also taken place on commemorative and circulation coins.

Artists whose designs were used on Turkish currency:

(dates in brackets indicate the year which the artist’s first design was released into circulation.)

Artists who were awarded degrees in competitions, but whose designs were not used on coins:

Artists whose artwork is used on currency indirectly:

*designers of some of the coins and most of the banknotes are missing from the list. It will be updated as new information surfaces.

cover photo: 2018 annual report of the Turkish State Mint

Robert Savage (1868 ~ 1943)

Robert Savage, The Engraver’s Line, Gene Hessler

Robert Savage began his career as an engraver in 1885 at Baldwin & Gleason. In 1891, he joined the American Banknote Company. He became the head of the Picture Engraving Department in 1907 and retired in 1925.

In 1943, the Chinese government specifically requested him to engrave a portrait of Chiang Kai-shek. (He passed away before he could finish the portrait, so William F. Ford completed the work.)

He produced engravings for banknotes and numerous bonds, stocks, and other securities of Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Czechoslovakia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, the German Federal Republic, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Hawaii, Honduras, Iran, Jamaica, Luxembourg, Martinique, Mexico, Paraguay, Portugal, Spain, Venezuela, and Yugoslavia.

He produced the engraving of the İnönü portrait on the front of the 4th emission 100 Lira banknote, which was put into circulation in Türkiye in 1947 (*1).

 

[1] The Engraver’s Line, Gene Hessler (*48, s. 261).

William Fraser Ford (1895 ~ 1962)

William Fraser Ford began working for the American Banknote Company in 1912. He became the Superintendent of the Picture Engraving Department in 1940 and retired from the company in 1960.

He produced engravings for banknotes of Belgian Congo, Brazil, China, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Indochina, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Iran, Spain, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Nicaragua, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, South Vietnam, and Greece.

In 1943, the Chinese government requested Robert Savage, who had previously retired, to engrave a portrait of Chiang Kai-shek. Although Savage began working on the portrait, he passed away before its completion, so William F. Ford finished the work.

He also produced the engraving of İsmet İnönü’s portrait, which appeared on the 3rd emission 50 Lira (1942) and 4th emission 10 Lira (1947) banknotes for Turkey (*1).

 

[1] The Engraver’s Line, Gene Hessler (*48, s. 123).