Chief Engraver of the United States Mint

Chief Engraver of United States Mint
Incumbent
Joseph Menna
since February 2019
United States Mint
Formation1792
First holderRobert Scot

The Chief Engraver of the United States Mint is the highest staff member at the United States Mint.

The Chief Engraver is the person in charge of coin design and engraving of dies at all four United States Mints: Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco and West Point. The position was created by Congress with the Coinage Act of 1792, and placed within the Department of Treasury that produces circulating coinage for the United States. In 1990 after the resignation of Elizabeth Jones, the post of Chief Engraver was left vacant, and in 1996, with Public Law 104-208, was abolished by Congress.[1]

On February 3, 2009, Mint Director Edmund C. Moy, appointed John Mercanti to the position of Chief Engraver, with duties and prerogatives determined by the Mint’s Office of Public Affairs. The appointment was not a restoration of the original congressionally approved office, but a temporary promotion, renewable annually for one officeholder for no more than five years. Following Mercanti's retirement in 2010, the post remained vacant until February 2019, when Joseph Menna was appointed to the position.

List of Chief Engravers

Image Name Tenure
Robert Scot 1793 until his death in 1823
William Kneass 1824 until his death in 1840
Christian Gobrecht 1840 until his death in 1844
James B. Longacre 1844 until his death in 1869
William Barber 1869 until his death in 1879[2]
Charles E. Barber 1880 until his death in 1917[3]
George T. Morgan 1917 until his death in 1925
John R. Sinnock 1925 until his death in 1947
Gilroy Roberts 1948 to 1964
Frank Gasparro 1965 to 1981
Elizabeth Jones 1981 to 1991
Vacant 1991 to 2006
John Mercanti 2006 to 2010
Vacant 2010 to 2019
Joseph Menna Feb 2019 to present

References

  1. ^ "Chief Engravers of the United States Mint - CoinFactsWiki".
  2. ^ Frost, John (Summer 2018). "In Search of the Forgotten Liberty Seated Engraver William Barber". Gobrecht Journal, Liberty Seated Collectors Club. 44 #2: 5–16.
  3. ^ Frost, John (Spring 2018). "In Search of Charles Barber". Journal of the Barber Coin Collectors' Society. 29, #1: 20–27.


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