Jacob Abraham (medalist)

Jacob Abraham (Abram) (1723, Strelitz – June 17, 1800, Berlin) was a German Jewish medalist and lapidary.

His talents were recognised by Frederick the Great, who confirmed his appointment at the Berlin mint as a die cutter in 1752 after a two-year apprenticeship.

On his death in 1800, he was, most unusually, granted full civil rights, and laid to rest at the Hamburg Street Cemetery, Berlin with many tributes.

He struck medals in honour of Frederick's military successes, such as the one commemorating the victory at Torgau, in 1760, cut from Ramler's model and Meil's design.

He also created a medal containing the effigy of Prince Potemkin and the fortress of Otchakov: Otschakovia Expugnata, and one struck in commemoration of the Jubilee festival of the French community in Berlin, June 10, 1772, from the design of D. Chodowiecki.