1860 Assay Commission Medal - JK-AC-1, Bronze, Longacre Pattern

Coin Details

Auction Record

$384 UNC Detail 03-25-2020 Stack's Bowers

Description

The 1860 Assay Commission medal JK-AC-1 in this variant represents the Longacre pattern that inaugurated the Assay Commission medal series. Chief Engraver James Barton Longacre created this design during a period when the Philadelphia Mint was expanding its medal production capabilities. The Annual Assay Commission had existed since the founding legislation of 1792, but the practice of creating commemorative medals specifically for commission members was still being formalized. Longacre brought to the Assay Commission medal his distinctive engraving style, honed through decades of work on federal coinage including the Indian Head cent and the gold dollar. His approach to the allegorical imagery on this medal reflects the neoclassical aesthetic that dominated American numismatic art in the antebellum period. The design elements emphasize the themes of accuracy, integrity, and federal authority that defined the Assay Commission's mandate. The Assay Commission's annual meeting was a significant civic event in nineteenth-century Philadelphia. Commission members, drawn from prominent citizens, bankers, and metallurgists, received their medals as tokens of service. The testing process itself involved melting reserved coin samples and subjecting them to chemical analysis to verify that gold and silver content fell within the tolerances prescribed by law.

Rarity Notes

JK-AC-1 (1860), Longacre Pattern. Early pattern issue preceding the regular annual series. Few examples are known to survive from this initial production.

Cross References

PCGS #512242; JK-AC-1; 1860 Assay Commission