Lincoln Plaque by Victor D. Brenner

Identical plaques in bronze and silver by Victor D. Brenner. Original plaque unveiled in 1907, two years prior to the design being released on the 1909 Lincoln Wheat Cent.

I used PhotoShop to reverse the upper portions of the silver plaque on the right. I then had to re-flip some of the reversed text for the credits on that plaque.

Exceedingly rare, the bronze issue had a mintage of approximately 80 pieces. I was given the plaque by a friend. He still owns the even rarer silver example.

 

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What a great friend to have given you such a treasure. One of these was auctioned by Heritage Auctions for nearly $5000 but it had the green marble backing that was original for the piece. I've seen some of these and they are really great examples of V.D. Brenner's work.
http://coins.ha.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=446&Lot_No=293&type=&ic=
And a few other examples:
http://www.invaluable.com/artist/brenner-victor-david-3x3ptchfhx

 

That is very cool!

 

Gorgeous plaque....One of our other members also owns one. I have been outbid on a cpl of these, just out of my range I guess.

 

Located here in Pittsburgh is another relatively unknown Lincoln plaque by Brenner, along with a very rare companion piece of G. Washington. As far as I know these two pieces are a unique combination of Brenner's art.

 

WOW, i would love to have any of those, and i would pay high $$$ let me now if anyone knows where to get one

 

Thanks, David...

That is a great link. : )

Thanks.

 

Very cool!

 

Hi Larry, Is the bronze a larger plaque? I have more to add but this will help me be correct in what I post.

 

You do have some nice "off the wall" stuff Larry.

Thanks for sharing.

clembo

 

Thanks, clembo...

After 30 years of collecting U.S. Type, digital photography came along and I began to photograph my coins. Now my collecting goals have expanded to include as many interesting, intriguing or beautiful examples as I can. Sometimes I find all three in one example. That's a treat.

I try to produce images the coins' designers might enjoy. I figure if Victor D. Brenner would enjoy these images, others should as well. ; )

While I take and present the photos, it is really the coin and the designer being shown off, whether the U.S. Mint or an Indiana die sinker of Civil War tokens. There are lots of beautiful coins, tokens, and medals to photograph and study.

Today, coins can appreciate simply as a result of better quality photos presented to potential buyers in listings or on websites. I believe that coins lacking eye appeal in their photos will be devalued as eye appeal becomes more and more important in efforts to sell coins. To some extent, the better one's photos, the better their coins. : )

I study coins by:

1. Devices
2. Fields
3. Rims
4. Edge
5. Luster
6. Strike
7. Grade
8. Rarity, mintage
9. Value
10. Need (often this leads me to the Back button on listings)

Examination of coins in hand can be enhanced by studying images on the computer screen, like using a loupe. Discoveries on screen should be checked for verification with the coin under a glass.

 

I just remembered, I believe it is Ambro that owns one of these plaques

 

Larry, could you tell us the size of each of these in your op?
There were different sizes made. Do they say Medallic Art Co on the bottom edge?

 

The medals in plaque format are 2-1/2" tall and 1-3/4" wide and they are stamped Medallic Arts Co. NYC.

They are certainly not the originals from 1907, being struck in 1971 or so.

I did not mean to imply that they were originals made in 1907. Even these these later copies by Medallic Arts are difficult to locate, though they do show up from time to time.

Here are both sides of my bronze plaque-style medal.



One note here: My frames often create an illusion as to the actual size of coins and medals so framed. I use ImageFramer (only available for the latest Macs) which is an instantaneous framer. Frames and other variables can be adjusted with sliders: various frames, mats, bevels, colors, shadows, etc. Showing two sides in one image in a frame is also an illusion since nobody can actually photograph both sides at once and have them appear in proper orientation.

 

Really cool.

Each of these are 33'' square. That makes it 5.5 feet wide on the wall.
I also believe there is only one set of these.

 

The mate to this is actually stamped on the bottom edge "FINE SILVER".
The ANA published something about there also being gold filled ones as well.
I have never seen one and would probably not know how to spot it.
I'll add more, once I get it together.

 

Very cool!

 

That sounds right. My friend says his is stamped with the silver notation, but he is away so can't say exactly what it says on the bottom edge. About six months and three visits ago, he visited our home and brought his completed U.S. Type Set to show us, all blast white and in outstanding condition, with most in the AU-58 to MS-63 range. He is a member of the Detroit Coin Club and is now number 8 in seniority, and moving up all the time. LOL

It's interesting to see the VDB's original Lincoln plaque was electrotype. It makes my more modern bronze version seem better, though not as rare or valuable. Still, it was a great gift. I later gave my friend the Medallic Arts 3" Founding of Detroit medal.

 

You've apparently seen these too. They are magnificent, aren't they? I doubt that more than a few hundred people in Pittsburgh have ever noticed them or even know about them or what they are, and probably no more than a few dozen people in the whole U.S. know of them. They are kind of hidden away from general public view. I know there must be a story behind them but haven't been able to find it yet

 

These were made at different times.
The Lincoln was a Brenner Copyright of 1915 and has the Gorham Co Founders mark.
The Washington is by Brenner as well with a copyright of 1921 but the founders mark is not clear.
The Womens (Womans) Historical Society of Pennsylvania donated the first in 1919 and the second in 1921.
Just the size of these is amazing to me.