Mercanti Gold Eagles

John Mercanti served as the 12^th Chief Engraver of the United States Mint. He served in that role from 2006 until 2010. Mercanti has the distinction of having produced more coin and medal designs than any other employee of the United States Mint, well over 100 designs.

Perhaps his most famous design is that of the heraldic eagle on the American Silver Eagle Bullion coin which was used on these coins between 1986 and 2021. Mercanti’s rendition of the Heraldic Eagle has a direct link to the original Heraldic Eagle design that was first used on America’s Silver Dollar coins from 1798 to 1804.

He also was responsible for the 1984 Olympic Ten Dollar Gold Coin, as well as the 1986 Statue of Liberty Silver Dollar, the 1989 Congress Bicentennial Five Dollar Gold Coin, the 1990 Eisenhower Centennial Silver Dollar, the 1991 Mount Rushmore Five Dollar Gold coin, the 1991 Korean War Memorial Silver Dollar and more than 100 others, including Five of the Fifty State Quarters. Mercanti was named in 2021 one of Coin World’s Most Influential People in Numismatics (1960-2020.)

After his career as a coin designer, John Mercanti authored a book on these silver bullion coins called “American Silver Eagles,” and his experience with modern United States bullion coins is highly sought after. He has signed a limited number of inserts for the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) on their certified American Gold and Silver Eagle bullion coins. These coins with his signature on the insert label of the gold coin are highly desirable as they represent the signature of the Chief Engraver of the United States Mint during that time period.

Mercanti’s signature on the insert label on NGC Graded American Silver Eagle bullion coins represent the signature of the designer of the reverse of that coin from its inception in 1986 until 2021.