The L-head Mercer Raceabout, built from 1915 to 1923, was equipped with notable features such as staggered semi-bucket seats, lightweight coachwork, and clamshell fenders. For the sporting driver, there was no other American car available at the time that gave the same thrill as a Mercer Raceabout on a country road.

According to Stan Smith’s Mercer Roster, the earliest known owner of this Mercer Series 5 Raceabout, chassis 17740, was Roswell Moore of Albuquerque, New Mexico. In 1954, Mr. Moore shipped this Mercer Raceabout to the UK to compete in that year’s Anglo-American Vintage Car Rally. Alongside luminary figures in the hobby – such as Samuel Bailey, Rod Blood, and Henry Austin Clark Jr. – Mercers, a Simplex, and others traversed the country from Edinburgh to Goodwood, competing in hill climbs, circuits, and displays along the way. The results were seen to favor the home team, however, as the Horseless Carriage Club Gazette reported, “despite their cordiality, the British managed to defeat the Americans by a wide margin.” Black and white photographs, and even a movie short, show the Mercer painted in a light color, much as it appeared over 40 years later.

In 1963, Roswell Moore offered his Mercer for sale at the then-princely sum of $10,000. The most likely buyer seems to be Dr. Samuel L. Scher, as he is known to have been the penultimate owner. In 1966, Dr. Scher’s then-famous collection was predominantly acquired by Richard C. Paine Jr. in a landmark transaction worth several hundred thousand dollars – reportedly requiring Paine to sell an island to his brother in order to pay for the deal. The Mercer remained in the Paine collection until 2008, when a portion of Seal Cove’s public display on Mount Desert Island was sold to create an endowment for its future.

Stan Lucas acquired the Mercer at that public auction, where it was finished in a light yellow scheme – quite possibly the same livery it had worn since the 1950s. He commissioned an extensive restoration, which included chassis repairs, engine refurbishment, and cosmetic work. During this process, it was decided to change the yellow to the more subtle and very elegant two-tone dark green over black livery the car wears today. Upon completion, the Mercer made its debut at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance® in 2015.

If one needed any further convincing to acquire a 1920s Mercer – or indeed this car – the fact that it has passed through the hands of collectors such as Dr. Samuel L. Scher, Richard C. Paine Jr. and Stan Lucas makes a persuasive case!