1880 Assay Commission Medal - JK-AC-20, Bronze, Rutherford B. Hayes

Coin Details

Auction Record

$1,140 SP65BN 08-23-2024 Stack's Bowers

Description

The 1880 Assay Commission medal JK-AC-20 in bronze features a portrait of President Rutherford B. Hayes, marking the beginning of a sustained period of presidential portraiture on the Assay Commission medals. Hayes's portrait on the 1880 medal established a precedent that would shape the series for decades: the sitting President or a recently serving President became the default obverse subject, connecting the technical work of coin testing to the nation's highest executive authority. President Hayes had vetoed the Bland-Allison Act in 1878, arguing that the forced purchase and coinage of silver would undermine sound money principles. Congress overrode his veto, making the silver question a defining issue of his presidency. His appearance on the Assay Commission medal — the very medal given to those who tested the coins produced under the laws he sought to shape — carries an implicit political dimension. The 1880 JK-AC-20 in bronze represents the standard issue for commission members during a year when Chief Engraver William Barber was entering his final months. Barber would die in August 1879, and his son Charles Edward Barber assumed the Chief Engraver position. The transition between father and son represented a remarkable dynastic succession at the Mint that would profoundly influence American numismatic art for the next four decades.

Rarity Notes

JK-AC-20 (1880) in bronze (AE). "Rutherford B. Hayes" portrait. Establishes the presidential portrait convention in the series.

Cross References

PCGS #512304; JK-AC-20; 1880 Assay Commission