This medal is well known to collectors. It is listed in Benjamin P. Wright's American Business Tokens as number 277, which dates it the late 1880s or 1890s.

There were two Eagle Engraving companies, one in Philadelphia (post 1905) and one in New York City, although its full name was Eagle Engraving and Stamping Company, as indicated by the full lettering on the obverse legend of the piece illustrated. The latter flourished in 1895, the approximate year in which Victor D. Brenner engraved this piece.

But the big story is not the piece itself, nor the fact it was engraved by Brenner -- although that is a big fact in itself -- and Brenner had engraved 17 undated medals and 29 dated medals that we know of in this period of his career (1892-1896).

Brenner had immigrated to America (from Lithuania), arriving May 10, 1890. He was 19 years old, and had engraved his first American medal (dated 1892). He was hired by Robert Stoll Engraving Company in 1894 and later that same year -- November 19, 1894 -- Professor Sigmund Oettinger of City College took Brenner to visit the American Numismatic Society and introduced him to their collections of coins and medals. It opened Brenner's eyes to a new world of medals.

But the big story about this piece is not about Brenner -- it is about the status of engraving companies in New York City at the time. The first World's Fair -- in Chicago 1892-93 -- had attracted European die engravers to America for the work opportunities the World's Fair offered. Indeed over a thousand medals and diestruck items were issued for this event alone. But the years following did not sustain the engraving industry, in other major cities as well as Chicago.

New York City saw the merger, undoubtedly brought on by the decline of business occurring because of the post World's Fair slump, of many engraving companies and one-man operations. I suspect this was the case of this New York City Eagle Engraving Company, a merger of two firms as evidenced by the two addresses on the reverse. Unfortunately we do not know the identity of the principal who joined with Robert Stoll -- or why two addresses are given.

This one medal, however, is the only item that can be documented as issued using the Eagle Engraving name. The Robert Stoll company continued (until at least 1929), but apparently used the Eagle Engraving name only this one time.

It mirrors a similar situation in the merger of three firms (and individuals) with the new name New York Engraving and Die Sinking Company. The instigator was engraver Fred Koch (active 1887-93), who became the president of the new firm. He had been a one-time partner of Gustav Horst, but Horst dropped out, so Koch brought in Horst's old partner, Frederick B. Smith (who had been with Smith and Seward (Seward was not an engraver). Koch also joined with engraver H.R. Wartenberg, to become VP of the new firm.

A letter, dated 28 April 1893, in the files of the ANS and recorded in the Richard Kenney archives, explains this musical chairs among the city's engraving companies' personnel. Unfortunately, we do not have such clarifying documents from Robert Stoll on the Eagle Engraving Company. It would have been extremely useful had such existed..

We do know that is a splendid medal Brenner engraved for Robert Stoll early in his employment, probably only a year after he was hired.