A bronze sculpture of 1 USA cent and coins collection

One cent bronze coin of USA: "Oh!Cent!"

In 2024, a sculpture of the American cent coin was erected in the courtyard of Vilnius University Šiauliai Academy (VUŠA). The coin, minted from 1909 until today, was designed by Victor David Brenner (1871-1924), a native of Šiauliai.

Vilius Puronas, an honorary citizen of Šiauliai, a local historian, and an industrial designer, devised the idea to immortalize 1 USA cent coin. In 2018, together with sculptor Vytautas Tallat-Kelpša, he designed the giant coin and named it “Oh!Cent!” (in Lithuanian Ak!Centas! has a double meaning: oh! I see a cent! and [artistic] emphasis).

It is not by accident that the USA coin is on display in Šiauliai. It was created by Victor David Brenner, a sculptor of Lithuanian origin, who was born in Šiauliai in 1871 and emigrated to the USA in 1890, where he became a renowned sculptor, engraver, and medallist. The sculptor created over 125 medals, coats of arms, and bas-relief portraits during his career. One of his most distinguished works is 1 USA cent coin design commemorating the 100^th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. The first coin was minted in 1909, and it is the oldest design still in use in the history of the USA Mint.

The coin entered the Lithuanian Book of Records as the largest replica of a coin.

The coin has a diameter of 1.45 m, a thickness of 8.8 cm, a total height of 3 m, a total width including the C-shaped holder of 3.32 m, and a thickness of 15.5 cm.

To see the other side of this enormous coin, the visitor should rotate it around the axis.

The sculpture was placed in the courtyard of Šiauliai Academy of Vilnius University as its Information Centre has a room of Lithuanian cents and an exposition of 1 USA cent coins collection, which was accumulated by the Lithuanians living in America.

Today, this symbol has returned to Brenner’s hometown not only as a spectacular artistic emphasis but also as a collection of 1 USA cent coins.

The place for the sculpture was chosen so that it could be seen through the window of the Cents Room.

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 200^th 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.