RENEWED QUERY: A ZERBE-HEEREN CONNECTION?

Robert Jesinger posed a query in the July 8, 2018 E-Sylum about an enigmatic medal he had acquired that seemed to be a Bryan related piece tied to Farran Zerbe and the Heeren Bros. of Pittsburgh.

I have included two images. The first is a Bryan/Zerbe medal I just bought, the second is the Bob Jesinger piece. Both are cast white metal, mine is bronzed.

Bill Hyder's medal

The obverses (with the fox head) were cast from the same mold. The reverses were cast from the same base mold with different images in the center. The lettering matches with the exception of what appears to be a signature character or something else after New York on my piece. On the second piece it has been removed (in the mold). Otherwise, the letters match in size, location, spacing, and other characteristics. The center design on mine is a printer at a printing press (it was described as a coining press, but it is not). I suspect it is a logo or a design from another medal that I have not identified so far. The second piece reproduces the Heeren Brothers anniversary souvenir medals. The dates above and below the word SOUVENIR have been removed.

The lettering appears to have been placed in the mold using typesetter's type or some other lettering set. The square bases of the type are visible in an overlapping sequence in several instances.

The fox head on the obverse likely is made from the same device that made the fox head on two 1896 medals that were unknown or not seen by Zerbe when he wrote his 1926 Bryan money article. Schorenstein did catalog one of the two fox head cast pieces with a 16 to 1 reverse (SCH-920). Another with a wheel on the reverse was sold by Stacks Bowers in 2009. The fox heads on the two Zerbe pieces are from the same mold. The two 1896 medals are the same size, but whether all four are the product of the same positive hub I cannot say as I have not personally examined either of the 1896 pieces.

Bob Jesinger's medal

The two Zerbe pieces pictured here have been linked to the Bryan campaign, but I believe they date to post 1926 (when Zerbe's catalog of Bryan money was published in The Numismatist) and most likely 1929 after Zerbe relocated to New York.

I have three working hypotheses:

First: Zerbe had these made for some reason.

Second: These were made for some reason to honor Zerbe, celebrate his Chase Manhattan Bank partnership, etc.

Third: They are satirical pieces comparing Zerbe to Bryan (never stops promoting himself, silver foxes, etc.).

Any help or leads will be much appreciated.

Zerbe certainly knew the Heeren brothers as they were in Pittsburgh, at least he would have known their business since they struck medals.

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
QUERY: A ZERBE-HEEREN CONNECTION? (https://www.coinbooks.org/v21/esylum_v21n27a19.html)

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