NNP

(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