INAUGURAL MEDAL REPLICATED AS A BUTTON

1953 Dwight Eisenhower Inaugural medal
Left: Cast Copy Button; Right: Original Medal

Recently Good Wife and I attended a button show. My interest was to learn some technology of how buttons were made since certain button making technology is so similar to coin making. Often the best button makers of 19th century in Europe became coin or token makers. I loved chatting with dealers who often have special knowledge.

At one table while I was examining a card of Scovill buttons, wife Shirley picked up a gray metal button somewhat larger than most on display. “It looks like a medal” she said. as she handed it to me. Indeed it did. It was the obverse of the Dwight Eisenhower Inaugural medal of 1953. It had a loop shank embedded in the middle of a flat back to make it a button.

“What’s the story on this one, it’s cast?” I asked the dealer. He explained it was made by J.F Eutzy of Pennsylvania; his logo is on the back. He only made thirteen by sand casting and gave them to members of his wife’s button club.

At home I examined the item more closely. The original was by Paul Manship and struck by Medallic Art Company. The artist’s name had been removed on this copy and the lettering in the Roman numeral date were indistinct. The spruce mark was at the top edge. It was trimmed on a lathe for a smooth uniform edge. Research identified the caster: Joseph Frederick Eutzy (1902-1970) of Lewisberry, Pennsylvania.

While the replication of such an important medal is not a criminal act, it is nearly so. The medal was copyrighted just to prevent such desecration. The pebbly cast surface and the poor quality of the item was in distinct contrast to the sharp image and smooth surface on the original struck medal. It was an insult to the artist, Paul Manship, to President Eisenhower and to the Inaugural Committee which authorized it.

Even though Medallic Art’s name was not on the cast button it reflects badly on the firm, which goes to the extreme to produce medallic art of the highest quality. For that reason the firm obtains copyright protection for all important medals; The Society of Medallists and Hall of Fame series are just two in which every medal was copyrighted.

Actually the copyright must be in the artist’s name and then assigned to Medallic Art. This is necessary for the inherent longevity of the firm, in contrast, say, to an Inaugural Committee which goes out of existence shortly after the Inaugural is over.

No action can be taken in this case since the person who made it is dead. Unfortunately there are twelve more of these buttons still in collectors’ hands.

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web