Jean Baptiste Merlen (1769–1850) was a French engraver and medallist.

Biography

Merlen began work at the Paris Mint, where he was responsible for designing the medal which celebrated

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's coronation as Emperor in 1804. In 1815, after Napoleon’s defeat at the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

, Merlen’s post at the Paris Mint was uncertain. As a result, he left and moved to London where he searched for work eventually being offered a post at the Royal Mint from February 1820. It is believed Benedetto Pistrucci, an established engraver at the Royal Mint in London, may well have met him in France and offered the post to Merlen in London. As Merlen was not eligible for a full-time post at the Royal Mint, he was hired on a temporary basis, with a salary of four guineas (84 shillings)-a-week, equivalent to £ as of . His most famous work was the obverse portrait of

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

from 1823 of the gold double sovereign, after an original work by Sir

Francis Chantrey Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey (7 April 1781 – 25 November 1841) was an English sculptor. He became the leading portrait sculptor in Regency era Britain, producing busts and statues of many notable figures of the time. Chantrey's most notable w ...

. The King had disliked the 'overweight' effigy Pistrucci had designed, preferring the Chantrey portrait. Merlen was given the task of engraving the Chantrey image after Pistrucci refused to redesign the effigy following the work of another artist. Merlen's effigy is also notable for being the first to show a male monarch bareheaded, i.e. neither crowned or

laureate In English, the word laureate has come to signify eminence or association with literary awards or military glory. It is also used for recipients of the Nobel Prize, the Gandhi Peace Award, the Student Peace Prize, and for former music direc ...

(in the style of Roman emperors) since the reign of

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...

. Merlen was also responsible for the obverse design of the 1823 George IV gold double sovereign, the first currency double sovereign or two pounds coin. Pistrucci had designed an 1820 gold double sovereign three years earlier although this was never issued for general circulation and, as such, is deemed to be a pattern coin and of the highest rarity. Merlen also designed several reverses, the most widely used being a crowned shield surrounded by a wreath, variants of which were used in issues of

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...

and later

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

. Merlen's initials, the letters 'J' 'B' and 'M' can be found on the first issue George IV halfcrowns dated 1820 and 1821 between the reverse border denticles at approximately 3 o'clock to the right of the shield design (see reverse photograph). The same individual letters used for his initials are also within the reverse beads, to the left of the reverse design, on the corresponding shillings and sixpences of the same period. Merlen continued to work alongside engraver

William Wyon William Wyon (Birmingham 1795 – 29 October 1851), was official chief engraver at the Royal Mint from 1828 until his death. Biography Wyon was born in Birmingham and, in 1809, was apprenticed to his father, Peter Wyon who was an engraver a ...

during the early part of Queen Victoria's long reign. Merlen retired from work at the Royal Mint in July 1844 with Wyon continuing until his own death seven years later in 1851. Merlen produced the reverse designs for all the early silver and gold for Victoria coinage. The engraving work was carried out by Wyon's son,

Leonard Charles Wyon Leonard Charles Wyon (23 November 1826 – 20 August 1891) was a British engraver of the Victorian era most notable for his work on the gold and silver coinage struck for the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887 and the bronze coinage of ...

, who entered service at the Mint upon Merlen's retirement. The reverse designs by Merlen on the Queen Victoria 'young head' silver half-crowns were identical to those of the gold sovereigns of the same period with the sovereigns attaining the nickname 'shield backs', a description which continues in use today by numismatists. His designs for the reverses of maundy money remained in use until 1887.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merlen, Jean Baptiste 1769 births 1850 deaths French engravers French medallists