Wyon, William

(1795 - 1851)

William Wyon (1795 – October 29, 1851), was official chief engraver at the Royal Mint from 1828 until his death.

Wyon was born in Birmingham, England. In 1834 he modeled the head of Princess Victoria, who was 15 at the time, and this was subsequently used for the City Medal struck in 1837 to celebrate her first visit to the City of London after her accession to the throne. This was the model for the head on the line-engraved postage stamps of 1840-79, the embossed stamps of 1847-54 and the postal stationery 1841-1901. The primary die used for the embossed issue was engraved by Wyon; the 1s and 10d stamps have the initials "ww" along with the die number at the base of the neck.

His design also influenced the surface-printed stamps first printed in 1855. The name of William Wyon is also well known amongst coin and medal collectors because of his prodigious output and artistic skill.