Pistrucci

Benedetto Pistrucci (1784–1855) was an Italian engraver and medallist who spent much of his career in London, where he worked for the Royal Mint. Born in Rome, he trained as an engraver and developed a reputation for neoclassical, high-relief medallic work before moving to Britain in the early 19th century.

At the Royal Mint, Pistrucci produced numerous dies and medallions, contributing to both coin design and medallic art. He is best known for the St George and the Dragon reverse that was assigned to British gold sovereigns after the 1816 recoinage. The design, depicting Saint George on horseback slaying a dragon, became one of the most enduring symbols of the sovereign and is closely associated with Pistrucci’s style.

In addition to coin work, Pistrucci created the Waterloo Medal of 1815, a large commemorative piece that remains a landmark of British medallic art. His influence extended beyond his own era, shaping tastes in British numismatic and medal design with a strong classical vocabulary and a preference for dynamic, high-relief figures.

Pistrucci died in London in 1855, but his legacy endured in the ongoing use of the Saint George and the Dragon motif and in the example his work set for subsequent generations of engravers and medallists.