INTERVIEW: JOHN MERCANTI'S WEDGE-TAILED EAGLE

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V17 2014 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 17, Number 3, January 19, 2014, Article 17

Charles Morgan has a nice interview with former Chief Engraver John Mercanti about his design for the Perth Mint Australian Wedge-tailed Eagle bullion coins. here's an excerpt. -Editor

Here on CoinWeek, Louis Golino reported on the recent release of the Australian Wedge-tailed Eagle high relief one-ounce silver and gold proof coins by the Perth Mint. The bullion coins are being offered for sale in the United States by The New York Mint on their website govmint.com (no affiliation with the U.S. government or the United States Mint), and can also be found through the Perth Mint’s Australian distributors. Ultimately, they’ll be available online at numismatic marketplaces such as eBay or Great Collections. The coins are the first designed by former Chief Engraver John Mercanti since his retirement from the United States Mint in 2010.

Recently, Charles had a quick chat with John Mercanti to ask him a few questions we’d like to share with you on how this project came to be and what the design process was like.

Well, I met with the Perth Mint’s wholesale manager Neil Vance in Austin, Texas in early 2013 to discuss a possible project. Neil had proposed the idea that I do an eagle design for a bullion coin.

Yeah, I had done and seen a lot of eagles. So, I talked with Neil and the Perth Mint’s Art Director to discuss the specifics of the coin and the technology that their Mint had at their disposal and got to work researching the eagle.

Exactly. I looked through a lot of pictures and saw that the bird has a prominent wedged look when it flies. There were a number of images where its wings were splayed and its plumage was fully articulated and I knew I wanted to do something with that because it would strike up well on a coin.

Did the idea of having the eagle land on a stump come from one of the pictures you found?

Actually, no. But let me back up. Originally, I did two rough drawings. One had an eagle flying in the air with its wings splayed. The second one, the one they picked showed the eagle coming down for a landing.

The first design I did sort of as a back-up. I really wanted to do the design Perth selected.

I saw a few images of the Wedge-tailed Eagle landing, but as an artist you don’t want to copy someone else’s work- you have to make the idea your own. You have to interpret the way the eagle flies and make it interesting. Also, I had never really seen an eagle landing on a coin.

Well, the Eisenhower dollar reverse depicts an eagle landing on the moon. Great interview regardless. Be sure to read the whole thing online. -Editor

Michael Zielinski has an article in World Mint News Blog noting that Mercanti's design will be used on as many as three different upcoming coins. -Editor

Earlier this month, the Perth Mint released the 2014 Australian Wedge Tailed Eagle High Relief Gold and Silver Proof Coins featuring an exceptional design by former United States Mint Chief Engraver John Mercanti. The coins represented one of the most discussed and well received world releases in years and promptly sold out on the Perth Mint’s website, although US customers were directed to an exclusive regional distributor.

It appears that Mercanti’s design will also be used on as many as three different upcoming coins. Basic details of these upcoming coins can be found in explanatory statements to Determinations that the Perth Mint files to specify the weight, dimensions, and composition of upcoming numismatic coins. In addition to the already released 1 ounce gold proof high relief coin and 1 ounce silver prof high relief coin, the statements provide for the following additional 2014-dated coins:

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