This is a test pour in pewter of the newest addition to the Engravers series. The next pour of this piece will be in 999 Fine Silver!

I grew up being fascinated with illustrations in books, from the Art Nouveau inspired paintings of John R. Neill for the Oz series to the moody ink drawings of Frank Frazetta for the Mars series and Tarzan books. But one style of illustration jumps out as particularly suited to the medium of silver art bars. For my second running collection of pieces, I hope to faithfully reproduce my favorite black and white etched illustrations in fine silver. The contenders for inclusion are many, but I can already think of several that top the list!

One of the joys of collecting silver coins is learning about the currencies of different nations.  In bullion, the first coins that most people collect are the major government backed silver pieces from different countries–the Eagle, the Maple, the Libertad, and the Britannia (and so many more!).  A great passion of mine has been hunting down the old silver coins that were used as currency in different countries in the past.  So, when I started pouring silver, it was natural that one of the first themes I would settle on, almost unconsciously, was the imagery of nations.  It started with the Rising Sun of Japan (which I reinterpreted as a rising moon!), and was followed by the imagery of my own country with my own take on the US Peace Dollar. And in tribute to my friends over on the Stackers Social discord, most of whom are from the UK, I then created my tribute to Britannia.  There are so many more designs to come in this series, as there are so many more countries for which I have a deep affection.  All of which leads to the question… How does one make a Quokka look majestic?…

The Jabberwocky is the second addition to my Famous Engravers series (following Dore’s Empyrean). This design comes from a classic illustration to Lewis Carrol’s Through the Looking-Glass. The etching was originally created by the artist, John Tenniel.