FURST (Fürst), MORITZ

FURST (Fürst), MORITZ (1782–1840), early U.S. medalist. Furst was born near Pressburg, and after immigrating to the United States in 1807, he worked as an engraver for the United States Mint in Philadelphia from 1812 to 1839. He received quick recognition, and 33 of his patriotic commemoratives and portraits are still issued by this mint; his best-known work was struck commemorating the War of 1812. He also did the first recorded American Jewish medal, the homage paid to the patriot and religious leader Gershom Mendes Seixas on his death in 1816. Official portraits were struck by him for presidents James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, and Martin Van Buren. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Magyar Zsidó Lexikon (1929) 300; Price List of Bronze Medals for Sale by the U.S. Mint; D.M. Friedenberg, in: The Numismatist (July 1969), 904–5. (Daniel M. Friedenberg)