US Coins

Heritage offers Lincoln plaque in May 14 auction

By Paul Gilkes

Published: May 2, 2016, 6 AM

The bronze on marble plaque of Abraham Lincoln by Lincoln cent designer Victor D. Brenner from 1907 predates the cent's release by two years.

Original images courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

George Washington inaugural button bears the original scheduled date of his inauguration on March 4, 1789, although the actual ceremony was held nearly two months later.

Button image courtesy of Heritage Auctions; Washington engraving courtesy of Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

1.75-inch sulphide badge depicts William Henry Harrison's portrait.

Images courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

A bronze Abraham Lincoln plaque by sculptor Victor D. Brenner depicting a portrait of the president similar to the one Brenner executed for the cent’s release in 1909 is among featured lots in Heritage Auctions’ May 14 Americana and Political Sale in Dallas.

The sale comprises 407 lots.

Among other lots offered is a George Washington inaugural button and a sulphide medallion bearing the portrait of William Henry Harrison.

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Lincoln plaque

The cast Lincoln plaque, signed to the right of the portrait by Brenner, with copyright, measures 7 inches by 9.5 inches, and is center-mounted on an 8.5-inch-by-10.75-inch piece of green marble. Also retained is the original brass easel for displaying the plaque.

Below the plaque in two lines is ABRAHAM LINCOLN / ?? 1809-1865 ??.

The name of the plaque's manufacturer, S. Klarer & Co., Founders, N.Y., is stamped on the plaque's edge.

Inaugural button

The 34-millimeter copper George Washington inaugural button depicts a small eagle with radiant sun above. Inscribed around is MARCH THE FOURTH 1789 MEMORABLE. The date is the original date scheduled for Washington's inauguration, but the ceremony was not officially held until April 30 of that year.

The button, with its original shank intact, is attributed as GW-1789-4 in Century of Campaign Buttons 1789-1889 by J. Doyle DeWitt.

Sulphide badge

The 1.75-inch sulphide lapel badge comprises a pewter frame securing, back-to-back, two convex rock crystal discs. The obverse shows the words MAJ. GEN. W.H. HARRISON, BORN FEB. 9, 1773, along with a portrait of Harrison in his military uniform. The reverse depicts a log cabin, flags and a cider barrel, with wording THE PEOPLES CHOICE and what is supposed to be THE HERO OF TIPPECANOE, but THE HERO OF is not legible.

The devices and inscriptions were impressed into both sides of a plaster composition, while the fields were painted with black enamel, with the overall look giving an impression of silver.

The black enamel layer is missing and some of the plaster that was secured between the crystals is chipped away.

A Mint example sold in a Sept. 26, 2015, Heritage auction for $9,375.

For more information on the May 14 sale, visit the Heritage Auctions' website.