FG (Frank Gasparro)

How to read it

The Mint says Frank Gasparro designed the Lincoln Memorial reverse used on the cent from 1959 to 2008, for Lincoln’s 150th birthday. CoinWeek puts his initials at the lower right of the Memorial; PCGS says they sit just to the right of the building, above the shrubbery, and that they “aren’t any kind of mintmark or secret code”. Gasparro joined the Mint in 1942 under Chief Engraver John R. Sinnock (whose initials are the JS on the dime) and became its 10th chief engraver on February 23, 1965. PCGS also credits him with both sides of the Eisenhower dollar (1971) and the Susan B. Anthony dollar (1979).

Also searched as: FG on coin, FG on penny, No FG.

FG on the Kennedy half dollar

For the 1964 Kennedy half dollar, Chief Engraver Gilroy Roberts had Gasparro design a reverse based on the Presidential Seal (CoinWeek). His FG is in the field between the eagle’s left leg and its tail feathers. Some halves lack it. CoinWeek says Mint employees polished clashed dies, and sometimes polished away the initials; Coin World names a 1966 Special Mint Set half and a 1972-D among the “No FG” coins.

FG or a mint mark

On the cent, FG is on the reverse, beside the Lincoln Memorial. Since 1968 the Mint has put mint marks on the obverse, to the right of the portrait, so the letters by the Memorial are not a mint mark. PCGS says as much.