Joe Menna Named Chief Engraver of the United States Mint

February 4, 2019
Sculptor-Engraver Joseph Menna

WASHINGTON – United States Mint Director David J. Ryder announced that Sculptor-Engraver Joe Menna has been named Chief Engraver of the United States Mint.

Menna joined the Mint in 2005, and he brings 32 years of professional experience and classical training to the position. He was the first full-time digitally skilled artist hired by the United States Mint. Menna was instrumental in the development of the United States Mint’s first digitally sculpted coins and continues to distinguish himself as a leader in this constantly evolving craft.

Prior to joining the Mint, Menna worked as a sculptor and instructor at the Johnson Atelier Fine Art Foundry in Mercer County, N.J., creating life-sized figures and working digitally on projects for a variety of clients. Concurrently, he pursued his own sculpting and created many works, notably a seven-foot tall cupro-nickel statue for the Grounds for Sculpture and a temporary 30-foot tall monument for the Hamilton train station in Hamilton, N.J.

His work has won multiple Krause Publications’ Coin of the Year awards in various categories. Menna has been honored both for coins he sculpted and designed, and for coins he sculpted from other artists’ designs. In addition to his work at the United States Mint, he maintains an active freelance career in toys and collectibles, and he is recognized as one of the world’s leading practitioners of digital sculpture.

Menna holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in sculpture from the University of the Arts, a Master of Fine Arts degree in sculpture from the New York Academy of Art, with post- graduate study at the Saint Petersburg Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Design in St. Petersburg, Russia. His continuing professional education includes studies at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, the Sculpture Center, and the Art Students League.

Menna’s full catalog of works for the Mint are listed below:

Design and Sculpting Credits

The Secretary of the Treasury selected these designs by Menna for use on a coin or medal.  Menna also executed the sculpts required to produce these coins and medals.

  • 2018 World War I Centennial Silver Medals (Marine Corps) – reverse
  • 2018 World War I Centennial Silver Medals (Air Service) – reverse
  • 2017 Bob Dole Congressional Gold Medal – obverse
  • 2016 National Park Service 100th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Program – Silver obverse
  • 2015 Presidential $1 Coins – Dwight D. Eisenhower obverse
  • 2014 Presidential $1 Coins – Franklin Roosevelt obverse
  • 2014 Shimon Peres Congressional Gold Medal – reverse
  • 2013 Presidential $1 Coins – Theodore Roosevelt obverse
  • 2013 America the Beautiful Quarters® Program – Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine reverse
  • 2013 America the Beautiful Quarters® Program – Mount Rushmore National Park reverse
  • 2012 First Spouse Gold Coin Program and Medal Program – Frances Cleveland (Term 2) reverse
  • 2011 Fallen Heroes of 9/11 Congressional Gold Medals – Flight 93 obverse
  • 2011 Medal of Honor Commemorative Coin Program – Gold reverse
  • 2009 District of Columbia and U.S. Territories Quarters Program – Commonwealth of Puerto Rico reverse
  • 2009 District of Columbia and U.S. Territories Quarters Program – U.S. Virgin Islands reverse
  • 2009 Presidential $1 Coins – William Henry Harrison obverse
  • 2008 Code Talkers Recognition Congressional Medals Program – Cherokee Nation reverse
  • 2008 Code Talkers Recognition Congressional Medals Program – Seminole Nation reverse
  • 2008 Presidential $1 Coins – James Monroe obverse
  • 2008 First Spouse Gold Coin and Medal Program – Louisa Adams reverse
  • 2007 First Spouse Gold Coin and Medal Program – Martha Washington obverse
  • 2007 First Spouse Gold Coin and Medal Program – Abigail Adams obverse
  • 2007 50 State Quarters Program – Utah reverse
  • 2007 Presidential $1 Coins – George Washington obverse
  • 2007 Presidential $1 Coins – Thomas Jefferson obverse
  • 2006 Dalai Lama Congressional Gold Medal – reverse

Design Credits

The Secretary of the Treasury selected these designs for use on a coin or medal:

  • 2010 America the Beautiful Quarters® Program – Yosemite National Park reverse
  • 2008 Code Talkers Recognition Congressional Medals Program – Kiowa obverse
  • 2008 Code Talkers Recognition Congressional Medals Program – Kiowa reverse

Sculpting Credits

Menna executed the sculpts required to produce these coins and medals:

  • 2019 American Legion Commemorative Coin Program – Clad reverse
  • 2019 American Legion Commemorative Coin Program – Gold reverse
  • 2018 America the Beautiful Quarters® Program – Voyageurs National Park reverse
  • 2018 World War I Centennial Silver Medals (Air Service) – obverse
  • 2017 Office of Strategic Services (OSS) Congressional Gold Medal – obverse
  • 2017 Filipino Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold Medal – reverse
  • 2017 Lions Clubs International Centennial Silver Dollar Coin – obverse
  • 2017 Boys Town Centennial Commemorative Coin Program – Silver obverse
  • 2017 Boys Town Centennial Commemorative Coin Program – Silver reverse
  • 2016 Presidential $1 Coins – Ronald Reagan obverse
  • 2016 First Spouse Gold Coin and Medal Program – Nancy Reagan obverse
  • 2016 America the Beautiful Quarters® Program – Cumberland Gap National Historical Park reverse
  • 2016 America the Beautiful Quarters® Program – Fort Moultrie (Fort Sumter National Monument) reverse
  • 2016 Mark Twain Commemorative Coin Program – Gold reverse
  • 2015 America the Beautiful Quarters® Program – Kisatchie National Forest reverse
  • 2015 America the Beautiful Quarters® Program – Blue Ridge Parkway reverse
  • 2015 U.S. Marshals Service 225th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Program – Silver reverse
  • 2014 American Eagle Platinum Proof Coin Program – reverse
  • 2014 America the Beautiful Quarters® Program – Everglades National Park reverse
  • 2014 Native American $1 Coin – reverse
  • 2014 First Spouse Gold Coin and Medal Program – Florence Harding obverse
  • 2013 First Spouse Gold Coin and Medal Program – Edith Roosevelt obverse
  • 2013 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing Victims Congressional Gold Medal – reverse
  • 2013 Girl Scouts of the USA Centennial Silver Dollar Coin – reverse
  • 2013 5-Star Generals Commemorative Coin Program – Gold reverse
  • 2013 5-Star Generals Commemorative Coin Program – Silver obverse
  • 2013 5-Star Generals Commemorative Coin Program – Silver reverse
  • 2012 Star-Spangled Banner Commemorative Coin Program – Gold obverse
  • 2012 Star-Spangled Banner Commemorative Coin Program – Gold reverse
  • 2012 America the Beautiful Quarters® Program – Acadia National Park reverse
  • 2011 Native American $1 Coin – reverse
  • 2011 America the Beautiful Quarters® Program – Vicksburg National Military Park reverse
  • 2011 United States Army Commemorative Coin Program – Gold reverse
  • 2011 United States Army Commemorative Coin Program – Clad reverse
  • 2011 First Spouse Gold Coin and Medal Program – Lucy Hayes reverse
  • 2011 September 11 National Medal – reverse
  • 2010 America the Beautiful Quarters® Program – Hot Springs National Park reverse
  • 2010 American Veterans Disabled for Life Silver Dollar Coin – reverse
  • 2010 Lincoln Bicentennial One-Cent Coin – Preservation of the Union reverse
  • 2010 First Spouse Gold Coin and Medal Program – Abigail Fillmore reverse
  • 2010 First Spouse Gold Coin and Medal Program – James Buchanan’s Liberty reverse
  • 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial One-Cent Coin – Presidency in Washington, DC reverse
  • 2009 Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar Coin – reverse
  • 2009 First Spouse Gold Coin and Medal Program – Anna Harrison obverse
  • 2008 50 State Quarters Program – Arizona reverse
  • 2008 Bald Eagle Commemorative Coin Program – Clad obverse
  • 2008 Code Talkers Recognition Congressional Medals Program – Tonto Apache Tribe obverse
  • 2008 Code Talkers Recognition Congressional Medals Program – Tlingit Tribe obverse
  • 2008 Code Talkers Recognition Congressional Medals Program – White Mountain Apache Tribe obverse
  • 2008 Arnold Palmer Congressional Gold Medal – reverse
  • 2006 San Francisco Old Mint Commemorative Coin Program – Gold obverse

About the United States Mint

Congress created the United States Mint in 1792 and the Mint became part of the Department of the Treasury in 1873. As the Nation’s sole manufacturer of legal tender coinage, the Mint is responsible for producing circulating coinage for the Nation to conduct its trade and commerce. The Mint also produces numismatic products, including proof, uncirculated, and commemorative coins; Congressional Gold Medals; silver and bronze medals; and silver and gold bullion coins. Its numismatic programs are self-sustaining and operate at no cost to taxpayers.

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