Mercanti Named 12th Chief Engraver

Buried within the hype of the Ultra High Relief Saint Gaudens Double Eagle and all of the other news of the day was that during the ceremony for the opening of the UHR exhibit at the Philadelphia Mint was the announcement that John Mercanti would be the 12th Chief Engraver of the US Mint.

Mercanti, who was previously the “Supervisory Design and Master Tooling Development Specialist,” has been working for the US Mint since 1974 and has been responsible for the design of some of the Mint’s most spectacular coins of the last 35 years. Mercanti worked under Chief Engravers Frank Gasparro and Elizabeth Jones.

After Jones retired in 1990, the US Mint abolished the position of Chief Engraver. After 19 years, Director Edmund C. Moy has decided to bring back the position and offer the job to the Mint’s most experienced and accomplished engraver. Mercanti deserves the honor to join this elite group:

Congratulation to John Mercanti!