What kind of casket was President Reagan buried in?

Answer 1

President Truman was buried in an urn-shaped solid African mahogany casket manufactured by the (former) Marsellus casket company of Syracuse, NY under the type designation Marsellus # 720. It was probably equipped with a hermetically sealing inner bronze liner with full-length oval glass lid.

Answer 2

Franklin D. Roosevelt was buried in a bronze plated copper deposit casket made by the (former) National Casket Company of Boston under the type designation No. 21260. The round corner casket, which had a hermetically sealing double lid and a velvet interior, was similar in design to the National copper deposit caskets selected for William Randolph Hearst, Elijah Muhammad and Elvis Presley.

The famous National copper deposit caskets were seamless, that is, they had no welds nor any holes for fittings. Unlike regular solid copper coffins, copper deposit caskets are neither welded from sheets of wrought copper, nor are they inner copper liners (used inside of luxury wooden caskets). Copper deposit caskets are manufactured in a very time consuming technical process in which molecules of copper are deposited electrolytically inside and out upon a casket form (usually a heavy gauge sheet copper casket). The thickness of walls in copper deposit caskets is typically 1/8" (3mm), which results in a pure copper weight of almost 600 lbs. The complete caskets (with mattress and interior lining) weigh usually around 700 lbs empty - about two to three times the weight of copper caskets made of 32 or 48 ounce (per square foot) sheets. The price of copper deposit caskets, which are no longer in production, was about 10 to 12 times that of simple 32 oz copper sheet caskets. Only cast bronze caskets exceed copper deposit caskets in weight (twice as much) and price (three times as much). Currently (2014) the closest equivalent would be the "Marquis" thermo deposited bronze casket made by the York-Matthews company.

The casket used for FDR's burial was certainly not the kind of casket the President had had in mind for his burial. In December, 1937, Franklin D. Roosevelt had written some detailed instructions for his funeral. In these instructions, he had insisted on a modest funeral with minimal ceremonies: the casket should be of dark hardwood and a design of absolute simplicity without a hermetically sealing inner metal liner, nor should there be any "lying in state" with an open casket. Unfortunately, the four-page document, which had been kept in an envelope in Roosevelt's personal safe in his bedroom at the White House, was discovered only after he was interred. Because of that, Roosevelt's body was embalmed against his will also.

Fred Patterson of Atlanta's prestigious H. M. Patterson & Son funeral home had taken two caskets to the Little White House in Warm Springs. The choice among "presidential" caskets in Patterson's stock had been severely narrowed both by the size of the late President - Roosevelt had a height of six feet three inches - and by the fact that as a result of wartime shortages metal caskets and casket liners were almost unavailable and therefore had to be replaced by cloth covered wooden caskets, hardwood caskets and caskets made of plastic and other composite materials. Roosevelt's staff had suggested a copper lined mahogany casket like the one that the President had selected for his mother's funeral a couple years ago. Patterson had an oversize mahogany casket on stock but that had no copper liner. Fortunately, he had not yet sold his most expensive pre-war unit, the National Seamless Copper Deposit casket, which also was large enough for Roosevelt. Because of that, he took both the mahogany casket as the copper deposit in his hearse to Warm Springs. The first Lady, after consultation with the White House staff, eventually selected the copper deposit model. She also made sure that the casket, after leaving the Little White House, was not opened again.

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Answer 3

President Ronald Reagan was buried in a luxury hardwood casket.

It was one of the last "Masterpiece" models manufactured by the famous Marsellus Casket Company of Syracuse, NY., which closed four month after the delivery of the Reagan casket. The casket was made from solid 2" and 3" planks of select grade African mahogany coming from trees which were approximately 500 years old. Marsellus accepted only 20% of the mahogany as "select grade". The amount of mahogany used in one "Masterpiece" has an equivalent of approximately 14,000 feet of veneer - facts which were admired by the Marsellus customers, but increasingly criticized by environmentalist engaged in the protection of the tropical rain forest. The Reagan casket, which had an empty weight of 450 lbs, had a high gloss finish and a velvet interior. The production time of one "Masterpiece" casket takes almost 8 month. Just the assembly of the component parts with copper nails and brass screws takes one experienced craftsman an entire 40 hour work week and the finishing operation lasts up to 30 days while five layers of sealer and lacquer are applied. The hand rubbing of the high gloss finish takes more than seven hours. Unlike the Marsellus # 710 mahogany casket - the plain and simple understatement design chosen for the burial of President Kennedy - the # 700 "Masterpiece" is a somewhat bulky and awkwardly baroque looking casket and definitely a symbol of what Thorstein Veblen called "conspicuous consumption", as the design tries to show every dollar the luxury casket costs.

The fact that the Reagan casket had a "half couch perfection cut" top (split lid) seems to indicate that it was not equipped with a hermetically sealing inner bronze liner with an oval glass top. For caskets with such an optional liner usually a wooden coffin with a "hinged cap" top is chosen. The protective quality of the inner liner was provided to the Reagan casket by an outer burial vault instead: his "Masterpiece" was placed in a Wilbert Bronze Triune No. 34 oversize concrete vault with a 16 oz. bronze lining (retail prices currently ranging between US $ 3,500 and 8,000).

After the closing of the Marsellus factory, the "Masterpiece" and several other designs as well as the Marsellus name were bought by the Batesville casket company, which still manufacturers the "Masterpiece" design under this name, although the company no longer manufactures inner bronze liners for the casket. Currently (in 2014) the Batesville-Marsellus "Masterpiece" has a manufacturer's suggested retail price of US $ 38,000, although it is offered by Online casket retailers already at "bargain" prices from 16,000 upwards.

Answer 4

President Reagan's casket was made by the former Marsellus Casket Company of Syracuse, NY. The company, which existed from 1872 to 2003, was regarded as the finest producer of hardwood caskets in the US. It provided the caskets of several other US Presidents as well (Truman, Kennedy, Nixon and Ford), but Ronald Reagan was the only President who was buried in the most expensive model of the company, a # 700 "Masterpiece". The design is now manufactured under the same name by the Batesville Casket Company.

Reagan's casket was one of the last "Masterpieces" produced by the Marsellus company, which closed four month after the delivery. The "Masterpiece", which had an empty weight of 450 lbs, is a luxury casket with an unusual, somewhat bulky and awkwardly baroque looking design which tries to show every single dollar it costs. The casket currently (in 2014) sells at prices between US $ 16,000 (Online retailers) and $ 38,000 (manufacturer's suggested list price). The "Masterpiece" is made from solid 2" and 3" planks of select grade ribbon grained African mahogany coming from trees which were approximately 500 years old. Marsellus accepted only 20% of the mahogany wood as meeting its "select grade" standard. The planks are assembled with copper nails and brass screws. The production of one "Masterpiece" took the Marsellus company almost 8 month. Just the assembly of the component parts took one experienced craftsman an entire 40 hour work week and the finishing operation lasted up to 30 days while five layers of sealer and lacquer were applied. The hand rubbing of the high gloss finish took more than seven hours. The casket had a premium velvet interior. Reagan's casket did not have an optional carved top, though (which would have added another $ 2,000 to the price). The fact that the Reagan casket was a split lid casket with a "perfection cut" top also seems to indicate that it was not equipped with a hermetically sealing inner bronze liner with a full oval plate glass top, which would have raised the weight of the casket by another 250 lbs and the price by another couple thousands. The protective function of an inner liner (which is no longer in production) was provided instead by an outer burial receptacle: the Reagan casket was placed in a 3,000 lbs heavy Wilbert "Bronze Triune No. 34 Oversize" concrete vault with bronze lining.

Answer 5

President Reagan was buried in what was probably the most expensive hardwood caskets available in the US. His "Masterpiece" was one of the last caskets produced by the famous Marsellus Casket Company of Syracuse (NY), which was regarded as the finest hardwood casket manufacturer in America. The casket is manufactured today under the same name by the Batesville casket company. Retail prices of the Batesville / Marsellus "Masterpiece" range between $ 16,000 and 38,000.

The # 700 "Masterpiece" was the top of the line model of the Marsellus Company, which closed just four month after the delivery of the casket to the funeral home which provided it for the Reagan funeral. In terms of design, the "Masterpiece" is a somewhat awkwardly baroque and bulky looking coffin and a symbol of what Thorstein Veblen had called "conspicuous consumption" as the casket shows every single dollar it costs. The Marsellus company had acquired the reputation of following extraordinarily high manufacturing standards in the production of its luxury caskets, involving a high percentage of hand crafting by expert craftsmen. The company accepted for example only 20% of the wood as meeting its "select grade" standard for ribbon grained mahogany. The "Masterpiece" was made of 2" and 3" planks of solid African mahogany from trees which are approximately 500 years old. The planks were assembled with copper nails and brass screws. The amount of mahogany used has an equivalent of approximately 14,000 feet of veneer. What some people regard as the ultimate in quality hardwood caskets met increasingly the criticism of environmentalists who pointed to the destruction of the tropical rain forest. The production time of a "Masterpiece" was almost 8 month. Just the assembly of the component parts took one experienced craftsman an entire 40 hour work week and the finishing operation lasted up to 30 days while five layers of sealer and lacquer were applied. The hand rubbing of a high gloss finish of the "Masterpiece" took more than seven hours. The empty weight of the "Masterpiece", which comes with a hand tufted premium velvet interior, is 450 lbs. The fact that the Reagan casket had a perfection half couch top seems to indicate that it was not equipped with an optional hermetically sealing inner bronze liner with oval glass panel (no longer available in the Batesville "Masterpiece"), which would have added around 250 lbs to the weight and some 25% to the price. The protective function provided by the bronze liner was compensated by the fact that Reagan's casket was placed in a 3,000 lbs heavy bronze lined concrete vault (type Wilbert Bronze Triune No. 34 oversize) which retails at prices between $ 3,500 and 8,000.