Elizabeth Jones

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This article is about the Chief Engraver. For the U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan, see A. Elizabeth Jones.

Elizabeth Jones was the eleventh and last Chief Engraver of the United States Mint, holding this position from 1981 until her resignation in 1990. After her resignation, the post of Chief Engraver was left vacant, and was subsequently abolished.

Jones was just 46 when President Ronald Reagan appointed her as Chief Engraver, making her the first woman to hold this post. Although relatively young by chief engraver standards, by this time she had already built an impressive reputation as one of the leading medallists in the world. Her talent and distinctive style, which she describes as "mildly abstract," had earned her a lengthy series of commissions from such prestigious clients as The Franklin Mint, Medallic Art Company and the Judaic Heritage Society. When Frank Gasparro retired in 1981 after 16 years as chief engraver, friends in the art world and in Washington, D.C., urged her to apply. She did, and soon had a new job.