Exposition of 1 USA cents
The exhibition opens with a rare vintage 1 USA cent coin bearing an Indian head (the Indian Head Cent) that circulated between 1859 and 1909. It was designed by James Barton Longacre, the Chief Engraver of the Philadelphia Mint.
In 1909, these cents were replaced by the Lincoln Cent designed by the sculptor, engraver, and medallist Victor David Brenner.
Brenner was born in Šiauliai to a Jewish family. He emigrated to the USA in 1890. He studied art there, and became famous as a creator of medals and bas-relief portraits. During his lifetime, the artist created more than 125 medals, coats of arms, and portraits, but one of Brenner's most significant works is 1 USA cent coin, the so-called Lincoln Cent. Interestingly, 1 USA cent with Lincoln's image has remained unchanged since it was first minted and is still minted today. Only the reverse has changed: from 1909 to 1958 the Wheat Cent, from 1959 to 2008 the Lincoln Memorial Cent, in 2009 several versions of the Lincoln Bicentennial Cent, and from 2010 to the present day, the Union Shield Cent was minted in the USA. The collection includes a coin commemorating the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth – Early Years in Indiana (obverse by Victor David Brenner, reverse by Charles L. Vickers).
In 1908, Brenner was commissioned to create a bas-relief in Lincoln's memory. At the time, the future USA President Theodore Roosevelt visited Brenner's studio and posed for a medal for the Panama Canal. There, he noticed the bronze Lincoln bas-relief on the wall, which impressed him greatly. In his conversation with Roosevelt, Brenner suggested that Lincoln should be commemorated with a monetary coin rather than a bas-relief. In 1909, the first coins in the USA history to feature the President's likeness were minted.
The collection has several coins from the same year but minted in different mints. If the letter D appears on the obverse next to the year, the coin was minted in Denver, Colorado; if the letter S, the coin was minted in San Francisco, California.
Until 1943, coins were struck in bronze; in 1943, zinc-coated steel was used for minting as copper and bronze were needed for the war industry – the colour of these coins stands out in the collection. In 1944–1946 brass, in 1947–1958 bronze, in 1959–2006 copper-zinc alloy, and in 2007–2017 copper-plated zinc was used for the coins.
The collection was assembled by the Lithuanians living in the USA on the initiative of Danutė Mačernienė. In 2016, on hearing about the idea to build a sculpture to 1 USA cent and thus give tribute to the memory of the sculptor Victor David Brenner, the author of the Lincoln Cent, who was born in Šiauliai, she decided to contact the designer of the sculpture Vilius Puronas. In the summer of 2017, she came to Lithuania and delivered the collection of 263 cent coins accumulated in America to Šiauliai residents along with the permission to show the collection to the public. In March 2025, Puronas handed over the collection to Šiauliai Academy Information Centre of Vilnius University Library in Šiauliai.
Šiauliai Academy Information centre,
Vytauto St. 84, 2nd floor lobby near the Cents Room
Phone.: (370 41) 595706;
Email: saic@mb.vu.lt
Working hours:
I-IV 8.00 - 19.00;
VI 10.00 - 15.00.
During the summer June 27 - August 31
I-IV 8.00 - 17.00;
V 8.00 - 15.45.
Reviews