בידספיריט | Germany > Prussia: Daniel Itzig

Germany > Prussia: Daniel Itzig 70th birthday commemoration medal , 1793 by Jewish medallists Abraham & Jacob Abramson ; struck in pewter/ white metal; weight: 29.25g; size: 45mm; thickness: 3.5mm. Obv.: right-facing Itzig w/ name & Latin birthday ref. Rev.: 'Charity' covering & feeding needy child; Latin leg. ”Bene Merenti” ['Well Deserved'] + 3-lines Latin leg. in exergue ”Pietas Filii | Natv Maioris | MDCCLXXXXIII” ['In Reverence Dedicated by the Eldest Son 1793']. Itzig (1723- 99) was a Prussian banker, owner of lead-factories & Berlin oil-mill; 1756 appointed ”Münzjude” (mint-master) by Frederick the Great, and helped finance & equip King's armies [through Jewish contractors] during Seven Years War (1756- 63); helped found Berlin school for poor Jewish children; head of Prussian Jewish communities (1775- 99); 1797 appointed ”Hofbankier” (court-banker) to Frederick William II. Retains some luster; JM-55/134, JMM-38-39, GJPM-14.