LONGACRE, James Barton, engraver, born in Delaware county, Pennsylvania, 11 August, 1794: died in Philadelphia, 1 January, 1869. He was descended from an early Swedish colonist on the Delaware, whose name was originally Longker. He served his apprenticeship as an engraver in Philadelphia, and from 1819 till 1831 illustrated some of the best works that were published in this country. With James Herring, of New York, and afterward alone, he issued the "National Portrait Gallery of Distinguished Americans," in which many of the engravings were from sketches by his own hand (3 vols., New York, 1834-'9). From 1844 till his death he was engraver to the United States mint, and designed all the new coins that were struck during this time, including the double-eagle, the three-dollar piece, and the gold dollar. He was afterward employed by the Chilian government to remodel the entire coinage of that country, and had completed the work shortly before his death.