Register to get free articles
Want unlimited access? View Plans
Already have an account? Sign in
Birmingham City University has reproduced a 227-year-old coin that will be presented to US President Donald Trump.
The coin is to commemorate Birmingham hosting the annual British-American Business Council (BABC) transatlantic conference this week.
The event at the University’s Royal Birmingham Conservatoire on 7 June will welcome delegates from all over Britain and North America as businesses in the West Midlands, led by Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce (GBCC) and supported by Birmingham City University, seek new markets in the post-Brexit era.
With 3D computer-aided-design (CAD) imaging, the University’s School of Jewellery helped to reproduce the Large Eagle Washington Cent coin to hand out to event attendees.
400 editions of the coin have been produced and the very first specimen is set to be delivered to Trump. The second edition will be presented to US Ambassador to the UK, Woody Johnson, who will be in attendance at the conference.
Following CAD imaging of the original coin and importing images into ArtCam software to enhance shapes, a master pattern was created and used to create a mould using high temperature rubber.
The coins were then cast in pewter by the A.E. Williams family, who are based in Digbeth and have been making the alloy since 1779.
The original Large Eagle Washington Cent was one of two coins commissioned in1791 by Birmingham firm W. and Alexander Walker.
The BABC conference follows the success of Birmingham’s high-profile presence at last year’s event in Chicago when the Midlands Chapter of the BABC received wide praise for sending the biggest delegation from a single city, as well as demonstrating the significant level of interest in transatlantic trade that exists in the Midlands.
The event will feature speakers from politics, business, economics and other sectors including chief economist for financial services firm RSM, Joseph Brusuelas.
Professor Julian Beer, deputy vice-chancellor at Birmingham City University, said: “The conference was a huge success five years ago when it was last held in Birmingham and we’re delighted that the spotlight will again fall on the city. The transatlantic relationship will be of even greater importance post-Brexit.”
