As part of a continuing
series to familiarize the
public with great artists of
heroic persona, the men
who designed our national
coinage, I will periodically
feature short biographies of
the creators of our splendid
US coins.
Our first entry is James B.
Longacre (1794-1869);
appointed Fourth Chief
Engraver of the United
States Mint in 1844. Already
an portraitist and designer
of some renown ,
Longacre’s early career is
curiously reminiscent of
another American legend,
Benjamin Franklin. Born
impoverished in rural
Pennsylvania, Longacre, as
did young Franklin, left
home for Philadelphia at the
age of 12, became
apprenticed to an engraver,
and spent the next years
perfecting his skills which
included specie design and
engraving and portraiture,
for which he opened his
own enterprise in 1819. His
self-made-man persona fits
well with the American
character of independence,
self-reliance, ingenuity and
sacrifice. The young artist’s
meticulous attention to
detail, his superb eye for
forms and shapes, his
master craftsmanship and his
work ethic were all honed
by his early apprenticeship,
in a peculiar way as was
Franklin’s.
The young Longacre also
exhibited adroit political
connections. His National
Portrait Gallery of
Distinguished Americans,
established around 1830,
enabled him to meet with
and exploit connections
with the American upper-
crust. Portraits of Daniel
Boone and other well-
known contemporaries
earned the portraitist fame
in the 1830s-40s. Famous
South Carolina Senator John
C. Calhoun was one of
Longacre’s many influential
friends, and it was he who
helped ease the way for his
appointment to the Chief
Engraver’s job, in 1844, on
the death of then-head
Christian Gobrecht.
Longacres’s long tenure at
the mint was marked by
conflict. Entrenched
interests, politically
connected, had long taken
residence there. Political
corruption, illegal side-
vending, graft of all sorts
existed in the office at that
time, and these entrenched
interests worked hard to
minimize the oversight and
supervision role of the Chief
Engraver.
That James B. Longacre
fought these forces arrayed
against him and, in large
part, was able to clean up
the political corruption at
the Mint, and at the same
time produce an array of
some of the most beautiful
US coins, either gold coins
or silver coins, is a
testament both to his
courage and his talent, both
as a designer and as an
administrator. That he was
able to prosper during the
most divisive years of the
American Republic, and
survive through nine (Tyler
Polk Taylor Fillmore Pierce
Buchanan Lincoln Johnson
Grant) presidential
administrations give further
heft to his accomplishments.
Some of Longacre’s most
famous US coin designs,
renowned even today for
their beauty, craftsmanship
and durability, are the
twenty dollar gold piece
(1849-1907), the Indian
Head cent (1859-1909), the
Flying Eagle cent
(1856-1858 – based on an
original Gobrecht design),
and the Shield Nickel,
1866-1883. Many more
coins, commemoratives,
gold coins, test designs,
silver coins, experimental
dies, patterns and tools, etc.
were the product of his
imagination and tools. In a
1928 retrospective honoring
the 100 Greatest American
Engravers , the prestigious
New York Public Library
included a retrospective of
his work, ensuring that he
would be included in the
pantheon of famous
American designers.
NEXT UP: William Barber –
Boring and Predictable? Or
Strong and Durable?
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