Jean Pierre Droz 1746 - 1823

occupation:
Mechanical engineer, Medallist
Nationality:
Swiss
born in:
La Chaux-de-Fonds, Neuchâtel canton, Switzerland

active in France and England; trained in France; 1786 - struck a pattern of Louis XVI with an edge inscription produced by a new type of collar; 1787 - Matthew Boulton persuaded Droz to visit England; 1788 - worked at the Soho Mint for Boulton; introduced improvements to Boulton's coining machinery; cut dies for patterns for some of the English coinage; returned to France and was appointed Keeper of the Mint Museum; 1810 - won competition to design new French coinage; contributed a large number of medals to the Napoleonic series produced under the direction of Dominique-Vivant Denon, and several to Mudie's National Series including those celebrating General Elliot's Defence of Gibraltar (1787) and King George III's Restoration to Health.