Commems Collection Medals: 1972 Otterbein, In Centennial

Otterbein, Indiana is a small town (2020 Census Population: 1,144), located in western Indiana, north of the State's vertical midpoint; the town is split between Benton County and Tippecanoe County. Its small town center is generally surrounded by fertile farmland.

The town was launched in October 1872 when John Levering and his wife laid out 60 individual town lots on land donated by local farmer William Otterbein Brown - the town is named for him. He served as the town's postmaster from 1872 until his passing in 1879. The area was originally referred to as Pond Grove.

As part of the town's centennial celebrations, the Otterbein Coin Shop (no longer in business) commissioned a commemorative medal struck by Medallic Art Company (MACO) of New York. The bronze piece has a diameter of 1-1/2 inches. Its obverse was designed/sculpted by Warner Williams; its reverse by Ralph Menconi.

The obverse makes use of the common "Then and Now" theme, with a Native American tipi (foreground) representing the area as it was pre-European settlement with modern (circa 1972) Otterbein in the background. The medal's reverse presents the Seal of Indiana, first officially adopted in 1816. The Seal features (at right) a lumberman felling a tree, a bison running away in the foreground and the sun setting over hills in the background.

I have not seen a final mintage/sales total for the piece, but would imagine (based on the town's population and primarily local interest in the subject) that no more than 500 were produced.

1972 Otterbein, IN Centennial



For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, see: Commems Collection.