1868 Assay Commission Medal - JK-AC-4, Bronze, End of the Civil War

Coin Details

Auction Record

$2,160 SP66BN 08-23-2024 Stack's Bowers

Description

The 1868 Assay Commission medal JK-AC-4 in bronze commemorates the end of the Civil War, incorporating design elements that reflect the nation's transition from wartime conflict to peacetime reconstruction. This medal marks the beginning of the post-Longacre pattern era, when the Assay Commission medal series began to take on more specific thematic content beyond the general allegorical imagery of the first three numbers. The "End of the Civil War" theme on JK-AC-4 was a deliberate artistic choice that situated the Assay Commission's work within the broader narrative of national reunification. The Philadelphia Mint, as a federal institution that had operated continuously throughout the conflict, embodied the continuity of government that the post-war period sought to reaffirm. The bronze medal served both its traditional function of recognizing commission members' service and its emerging role as a miniature historical document. The Assay Commission that convened in early 1868 tested coins produced during 1867, a year when the Mint was still adjusting to the dramatic changes in coinage composition and denomination that had occurred during and immediately after the war. The introduction of the two-cent piece, the three-cent nickel, and the Shield nickel had all expanded the commission's testing responsibilities, even as the return to metallic circulation gradually restored the significance of the annual assay process.

Rarity Notes

JK-AC-4 (1868) in bronze (AE). "End of the Civil War" theme. As the first thematic issue following the Longacre patterns, this medal holds special significance in the series chronology.

Cross References

PCGS #512253; JK-AC-4; 1868 Assay Commission