(Thomas) James Ferrell
Biography
(b.9/28/1939 L98)
Born in Clayton, New Jersey. Graduate of Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 1963. Married Lisa in 1962. They had two children and are divorced. Employed as an artist for the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin 1964 to 1970.
In 1970 he began to work with Gilroy Roberts at the Franklin Mint. He was involved with design, sculpture or production management for hundreds of their products.
He designed several foreign coins:
1975 Panama 100 Balboa gold coin 1975
Panama 150 Balboa platinum coin 1976
Barbados 100 Dollar gold coin 1976
Papua, New Guinea 100 Kina gold coin 1979
Bahamas 250 Dollar gold coin 1986
Egypt 100 Dollar gold coin 1988
Egypt 100 Dollar gold coin 1989
Egypt 100 Dollar gold coin (gold coin of theyear)
In August 1989 he left the Franklin Mint to become a sculptor engraver for the U.S. Mint. He designed these Mint products:
Jesse Owens Congressional Gold Medal (1990)
Pearl Harbor Defender's Medal obverse and reverse Matthew B. Ridgway Congressional Gold Medal obverse in 1991
Mount Rushmore half dollar reverse (1991)
Korea dollar reverse (1991)
Columbus half dollar obverse and reverse (1992)
Columbus $5 gold obverse (1992)
James Madison half obverse (1993)
Jefferson 250th Anniversary dollar (1993)
Veterans Women in Military Service dollar (1994)
Eunice Shriver dollar obverse-sculptor (1995)
Civil War Battlefield half dollar reverse (1995)
Smithsonian $5 gold reverse (1996)
Franklin Delano Roosevelt $5 gold obverse (1997)
Jackie Robinson dollar reverse (1997)
He received the ANA Numismatic Art Award in 2002.
bio by correspondence, 1991; CCUS
Source credit: Pete Smith, American Numismatic Biographies