The Victor David Brenner Sesquicentennial
American Numismatic Society, Sage Room
New York, NY
September 17, 2021–Present
In September, the ANS revived the Coinage of the Americas Conference (COAC), a vitally important venue for the presentation of academic research pertaining to numismatics of the Western Hemisphere that had been dormant since 2009. The two-day event, sponsored by the Resolute Americana Collection and the Stack Family, was devoted to an exploration of the work and life of medallist and sculptor Victor D. Brenner in commemoration of the sesquicentennial of his birth.
Brenner, who came to the United States from Lithuania as a teenager, was an ANS member, instructor in the ANS’s short-lived school for medallic art, and winner of the Saltus Award in 1922. Most famously, he designed the 1909 Lincoln cent, thereby making him the most widely seen medallic artist ever to live. Yet, incongruously, he has never received comprehensive scholarly attention, and the conference aimed to address this with papers exploring Brenner’s life, work, and legacy. In addition, a special exhibit of the artist’s work was on view at the ANS.
Items on display
The ANS has 24 items on display in this exhibition. A sample of these works include:
Silver Medal, United States, 1899. (ANS 1987.147.4)
Bronze Medal, United States. (ANS 1987.147.142)
Bronze Medal, United States, 1900. (ANS 1987.147.154)
Bronze Plaque of Ralph Waldo Emerson, United States, 1882. (ANS 1912.14.1)
Bronze Medal, France, 1899. (ANS 1987.147.155)
