COIN DESIGNER PERCY METCALFE

Percy Metcalfe was born on January 14, 1895 in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. At the age of 15 he won a scholarship to the Leeds School of Art and from there he attended the Royal College of Art in London. With the outbreak of war in 1914, he volunteered for military service and served in the Royal Artillery, however, a major injury to his leg meant he found it increasingly difficult to stand for any length of time—a problem for a sculptor. Following the end of the war, he resumed his studies. On September 3, 1920 he married fellow student and sculptor—Eviline Smith and they went on to have two daughters.

He first exhibited as a sculptor at the Royal Academy in 1921 but by 1922 he was turning his talents and skills in sculpture to medallic art and later to the design of coins. It was his work in designing the official exhibitors’ medals and the Royal Mint commemorative medal as well as a number of unofficial or privately authorised medals for the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley in 1924 that brought him to the attention of the Secretary of the English School in Rome who recommended his inclusion in the list of artists invited to submit designs for Ireland’s new coinage.

This young, relatively unknown medallist competed against some of the greatest names in early 20th century sculpture. His Irish designs were internationally acclaimed and prompted further commissions.

The first of these occurred a year later with a portrait of King Fuad of Egypt for the obverse of his coins. The commission was also in part probably prompted by a medal that Metcalfe had produced to mark the King’s visit to London in 1927. The portrait, as with all Metcalfe’s work, was made up of simple lines enabling a modern stylised coinage to be produced. As a medallist, Metcalfe had developed the skills to depict images in low relief—an absolute requirement for designs on coins. Metcalfe’s simple designs represented a major break from the more traditional, fussy and often overcrowded designs of other sculptors and engravers.

The portrait of Fuad shows the King in profile, looking left, with a fez and in military uniform. Metcalfe’s trademark initials “PM” are found left of the King’s epaulette. The design featured on Egypt’s coins from 1929 to 1933. In 1937, Metcalfe was chosen to design the portrait of the new Egyptian King, the coin-collecting Farouk. Metcalfe’s portrayal of the young king is almost “pharonic” in its treatment with the King’s chest and shoulder facing forwards with braided lanyards and orders of chivalry and the King’s head in profile looking sharp left. Metcalfe’s initials are again found at the base of the design. Metcalfe was also responsible for the design of the Arabic script that accompanied the portraits. His portrait of Farouk appeared on Egypt’s coins from 1937 through to 1950 and is probably the most striking of all his portraits for its simplicity but also for its presence.

The late 1920s also saw Metcalfe produce the more softer and less stylised portrait of the eight-year-old boy king, Michael I of Romania, which was to appear on his 5 lei and 10 lei coins issued in 1930—the last year of his fi rst reign as King of Romania (1927– 30). He was to reign again as King from 1940 until deposed by the post-war communist regime in 1947.

To read the complete issue, see:
Coin News May 2015 (digital.tokenpublishing.com/?pdfissueid={E7F96397-AFF8-4277-B54D-1D325F7E872D})

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