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SECTION A-PAGE 11CHAIRMAN EMERITUS OF THE FRANKLIN MINT,' Gilroy Roberts, is considered to be America's foremost medallic sculptor.Franklin Mint Announces Commemorative Bicentennial MedalFKANKLIN CENTER, Pa. - with the same matching serial ■ an- nefcjp«nen.y.ynounced one of the most registered ih mt •..... ,,significant single com- subscriber, memorative medals in the There is a strict limit of one company’s history - The sterling silver Proof or one Franklin Mint Bicentennial matched Proof Set per Medal. collector. All orders for ProofsThe medal was designed and must be postmarked no later created by the dean of than July 31,1975, to be eligible American medallic sculptors, for acceptance. Any orders Gilroy Roberts, whose portrait received for either Proof edition of President Kennedy is on the bearing later postmarks will, U.S. half dollar. regretfully, be declined andWhen asked to undertake the returned, creation of The Franklin Mint’s Following are the names of own medallic tribute to the the 30 famous Americans whose nation’s Bicentennial, Roberts portraits are included within said, ‘‘I’ve thought about a the obverse design, in Bicentennial medal for some alphabetical order: Janetime ~ a design made up ex- Adams, Susan B. Anthony, Neil clusively of faces of famous Armstrong, William Clark, American men and women Thomas Edison, Albert Ein-from every part of the country stein, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and from every period of Henry Ford, Benjamin history, whose achievements Franklin, Robert Frost, have been most significant Alexander Hamilton, Oliver during our nation’s 200 years of Wendell Holmes, Jr., Thomas development.” Jefferson, John Paul Jones,Now that the design is John F. Kennedy, Martin completed, Roberts noted that Luther King, Robert E. Lee, “it was a very challenging Meriwether Lewis, Abraham sculpture because it required so Lincoln, Charles Lindbergh, many detailed portraits of John D. Rockefeller, Franklin specific people. But it will be a Delano Roosevelt, Babe Ruth, medal in the classical tradition Mark Twain, Booker T. of medallic art, he added. Washington, George “And I think it’s the right thing Washington, Walt Whitman, to do, for it says that people are Woodrow Wilson, Orville what America is all about.” Wright and Wilbur Wright.The face ofthe medal bears 30 GILROY ROBERTS sculptured portraits of famous Gilroy Roberts, chairman Americans who have shaped the emeritus of The Franklin Mint, history, culture and progress of is considered by many to be our nation during the past 200 America’s foremost medallic years. sculptor.The reverse of the medal He was born in Philadelphiacarries the following lines of the in 1905. His parents were both Preamble to the Constitution - professional artists. Quite early “We, the people of the United in his life, he started modeling States, in order to form a more clay and carving in wood. Later perfect union, establish justice, he studied at the Frankford insure domestic tranquility, Evening Art School in provide for the common Philadelphia and Corcoran defence, promote the general School of Art in Washington, welfare, and secure the D.C.blessings of liberty to ourselves In 1936, Mr. Roberts wasand our posterity....’’Thus both appointed assistant sculptor-sides of the medal reflect the engraver of the U.S. Mint, theme of people - one side in following a competitive civil pictures, the other in words. service examination. After The Franklin Mint Bicen- serving in this post for two tennial Medal is being made years, he joined the Bureau of available to the general public Engraving and Printing in in a solid bronze Proof edition, Washington as a portrait with no quantity limitation, engraver, and in 1944, returned until the end of the Bicetennial to the U.S. Mint as assistant year 1976. The prize is $25 for sculptor-engraver. On Jully 22, each bronze Proof medal. 1948, President Truman ap-The medal will measure 2- pointed Mr. Roberts chief 1/ 2” in diameter and will sculptor-engraver of the U.S. contain 2,000 grains of solid Mint, making him only the ninth bronze. Each medal will be man in U.S. history to hold this struck with The Franklin Mint’s position, gem Proof finish - considered In 1964, Mr. Roberts left the to be the ultimate achievement U.S. Mint to join The Franklin of the minter’s art - and each Mint as its chief sculptor and will be individually hallmarked chairman of the board of to certify its Proof status. directors. In 1971, he was named Franklin Mint chairman Established Franklin Mint emeritus, collectors will have the exclusive opportunity to acquire During his long andThe Franklin Mint Bicentennial distinguished career, Mr. Medal either in a solid sterling Roberts has designed numerous silver Proof edition, or in a coins, medals, plaques and matched Proof Set consisting of stamps. In addition, he has also a bronze and a silver medal, done a number of private The medals in the matched commissions for such Proof Set will be edaemarked prestigious organizations as theHelen Keller Foundation, the National CommemorativeCommemorative Society, the Catholic Commemorative Society and the Societe Commemorate de Femmes Celebres among others.His most popular work, and possibly his most famous, is the portrait of President Kennedy on the U.S. half dollar, which was first issued in 1964.Other designs of foreign coins which he created include the British Virgin Islands $1, 50, 25, 10, 5 and 1 cent obverse, 1973; the Panama 5 Balboa Central American and Caribbean games, 1970; Liberia $1, 50, 25, 10, 5 and 1 cent obverse, 1958; Cuba 1 peso, 50, 25, 5 and 1 centavo obverse, 1953; El Salvador 50 and 25 centavos obverse, 1953; Denmark 5 kroner, 1944; and his most recent design, the obverse of the British Virgin Islands $100 gold coin, 1975.Mr. Roberts did the portraits of presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson for the U.S. Mint’s series of Presidents Medals. His work on Congressional Medals include Irving Berlin, 1954; Dr. Jonas Salk, 1955; Sir Winston Churchill, obverse, 1955; Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee, honoring the surviving veterans ofthe War between the States, 1956.He also designed the Famous American commemorative postage series of 1940; portraits of Ralph Waldo Emerson (3 cents); Stephen Foster (1 cent); and Eli Whitney (1 cent) among other postage stamp issues.Mr. Roberts’ creations for The Franklin Mint have become prized collector’s items. He designed and sculptured The Franklin Mint’s official emblem, which bears the'likeness of Benjamin Franklin. Among his most popular works are a series of art medals portraying a variety of bird species, titled Roberts Birds,” and the Official Presidential Medals of the White House Historical Association.His works have been exhibited nationally at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia; the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington; the National Sculpture Society in New York City; and abroad, in Paris, Madrid, Rome and the Hague.• He has received awards for his work from the National Sculpture Society and from the International Exhibit of Coins and Medals, Madrid, Spain. He is a member of the National Sculpture Society, The Franklin Institute, the Rittenhouse Astronomical Society and the Philadelphia Sketch Club.Mr. Roberts lives in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. He is married to the former Lillian Pancoast of Woodstown, N.J., and has a son, John.THE FRANKLIN MINT BICENTENNIAL MEDAL, designed by Gilroy Roberts, bears thirty portraits of famous Americans.
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Assabet Valley Beacon
Acton, Massachusetts, US
Thu, Jul 10, 1975
Page 30
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PA, USA 27 Nov 2024
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