Facebook Pixel

Robert Scot: The Engraver That Started It All

2021-10-04 20:10:00
Robert Scot: The Engraver That Started It All
Posted in: News, News

Robert Scot: The Engraver That Started It All

Today, Rare Collectibles TV celebrates the birthday of Robert Scot, the first Chief Engraver of the United States Mint. For over thirty years, Scot’s work defined American coinage, laying the foundation for future coin engravers to follow.

Robert Scot was born on October 2nd, 1745 in Canongate, Scotland. Early in life, Scot studied watchmaking and line engraving at the Trustees Academy and took classes at the University of Edinburgh. In 1775, Robert Scot moved to Fredericksburg, Virginia and found work engraving banknotes, at first using the Arms of Britain. After the Fifth Virginia Convention of May 1776, Scot began engraving currency with the radical new Virginia Seal design and the motto “Sic Semper Tyrannis,” meaning “Thus Always to Tyrants.” Depicting an allegorical image of the goddess Virtue standing triumphant over a defeated king that represents tyranny, the Virginia Seal was an unapologetic attack against the tyrannical British rule over the American colonies. 

After the British army destroyed Richmond in 1781, Scot relocated to Philadelphia and began engraving currency for Robert Morris, Superintendent of the Office of Finance. This early work with Morris contributed to Scot being selected to engrave the Great Seal of the United States. Featuring an American bald eagle clutching an olive branch and arrows in its talons with a shield protecting its chest, the Great Seal of the United States is likely the most iconic imagery produced in American history.

Between his work in Virginia and his creation of the Great Seal, Scot was the natural choice as the first Chief Engraver of the United States Mint, and he was formally commissioned on November 23rd, 1793. The Coinage Act of 1792 required a design for each denomination that the Mint would produce, and so Scot set about the monumental task of producing them. Most notable of Scot’s work is the Draped Bust design, which was used on the half cent, large cent, half dime, dime, quarter, half dollar, and silver dollar. This widespread design was later supplemented with the Liberty Cap design on the half cent and Flowing Hair design on the half dime, half dollar, and silver dollar. 

In addition to his work on minor denominations, Scot also designed the first gold coins ever struck by the U.S. Mint. The Capped Bust design was used on the $2.50 quarter eagle, $5 half eagle, and $10 eagle beginning in 1795, with a redesigned reverse implemented in 1797. While used for only a short period of time (the $10 eagle ceased production in 1804, and the $5 half eagle and $2.50 quarter eagle coins received new designs in 1807), the Capped Bust remains an important and incredibly rare coin in the history of American numismatics. 

Robert Scot passed away on November 3rd, 1823, just one month after his 78th birthday. Over the course of thirty years as Chief Engraver, Scot’s efforts laid down the groundwork that later engravers would follow, creating the design elements that we still follow to this day. It is also thanks to him that we have the wonderful hobby of American coin collecting to begin with, filling the lives of numismatists with joy and satisfaction. Only a small handful of coins featuring his designs have managed to survive to this day, making them some of the rarest numismatic pieces attainable. If you are looking for the finest known coinage from the earliest stages of American history, check out our selection of Early American Coinage.