Thursday, December 1, 2016

      ROBERT LOVETT JR.


  Robert Jr. is probably the member of the Lovett family most well known to numismatist for his engraving and striking of the Confederate Cent. Born in Philadelphia in 1818 he moved with his family to New York City in 1824 and at the age of 16 began his apprenticeship with his father. By 1839 he had set up his own shop back in Philadelphia, possibly to avoid competition with family members. Although not nearly as prolific as his brother George his works cover a broad range of types, from merchant tokens, to award medals for schools and institutions, to political medalets. He did work for several prominent numismatists of the time, including Edward Cogan, William Idler, and Montroville Dickinson. A few of his dies were used after his death in 1879 by his George H. and others. A complete set of his works would be a serious undertaking if at all possible.