Exhibit features Reformation-era coins, medals

(Concordia Historical Institute)

On June 25, Concordia Historical Institute (CHI) will unveil a new exhibit showcasing the extensive Reformation coin and medal collections of three Michigan Lutherans. The exhibit, titled “Luther Medals and Reformation Coins: Michigan Connections and Collectors,” will present more than 125 of the most valuable and historically significant pieces from the collections of Henry Kling Jr., Charles Manske and James Daenzer.

These men researched and catalogued pieces from Germany, Scandinavia and North America — some going back as far as 1543, each with a story. The exhibit has been curated by CHI Executive Director Rev. Dr. Daniel Harmelink. In addition to his work at CHI, Harmelink is also president of the International Association of Reformation Coins and Medals. A leading authority on Reformation numismatics, he also edited the comprehensive catalog The Reformation Coin and Medal Collection of Concordia Historical Institute: A Striking Witness to Luther and the Reformation (Concordia Publishing House, 2016).

CHI houses the most extensive institutional collection of Reformation coins and medals outside of Germany. For 175 years, Missouri Synod Lutherans have collected these Reformation pieces as memorials of their faith. Over the years, many of these coins and medals have made their way to CHI, the official Department of Archives and History of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.

The exhibit will run weekdays, 9 a.m.–3 p.m. in the CHI Exhibition Hall, located at 804 Seminary Place, Clayton, Mo., on the campus of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. For more information, visit concordiahistoricalinstitute.org or call 314-505-7900.

Posted June 19, 2024