In 2021 the Department of Numismatics at the Yale University Art Gallery acquired an extraordinary collection of forty-two bank note company engravers’ sample specimen sheets with the Susan G. and John W. Jackson B.A. 1967, Numismatics Acquisition Endowment Fund. The collection was formerly owned by Michael J. Sullivan, who built it over the course of two decades, patiently waiting for the best examples to surface on the market. In the process, Sullivan passionately formed the largest collection of this rare and beautiful material ever assembled —one that will remain unparalleled in any institutional or private collection.
Danforth, Bald & Co. Engraver’s Specimen Sheet.
45 5/8 × 4 5/8 in.
2021.66.38
Yale University Art Gallery
The engravers’ specimen sheets now in the Gallery’s collection exemplifies the artistic and engineering qualities of bank note engraving craftsmanship in the United States from the 1820s to the 1870s, during which the nation was the preeminent producer of quality security engraving in the world. Renowned American artists, such as Asher Brown Durand, John William Casilear, and James Smillie, created intaglio engravings, and their work appeared on circulating currency, financial instruments, and specimen sheets—including some in the collection.
This short presentation at the World’s Fair of Money 2025 cannot do proper justice to the entire collection so it will only go so far as to illustrate some of the artistic and whimsical characteristics of these exquisite objects.
The Engraver’s Circle of Yale University Art Gallery free breakfast and lecture is scheduled for Thursday 21 August, 9-11:30 AM at the World’s Fair of Money 2025. Room 202 at the Oklahoma City Convention Center (please check final schedule).
Please RSVP by August 14 at numismatics@yale.edu.
