1884 Assay Commission Medal - JK-AC-27, Silver, Chester A. Arthur

Coin Details

Auction Record

$3,360 SP63 08-22-2018 Stack's Bowers

Description

The 1884 Assay Commission medal JK-AC-27 in silver is a presentation striking of the second Arthur portrait, produced during the President's final year in office. Silver strikings from the Arthur years maintain the consistent presentation-quality production that characterized the Assay Commission medal program under Charles Barber's direction. The silver JK-AC-27 captures Arthur at the midpoint between his accidental assumption of the presidency and his departure from office. Arthur's health was declining — he suffered from Bright's disease, which would claim his life in 1886 — but he maintained his public dignity and continued to fulfill his executive responsibilities with the competence that had surprised those who expected a machine politician to be incapable of principled governance. This precious-metal striking represents the penultimate Arthur-era Assay Commission silver medal, with JK-AC-28 in 1885 completing the sequence. The three-year Arthur run in the series provides collectors with a compact presidential sub-collection that documents a single administration through annually-issued medals, each reflecting the evolving artistic treatment of the same subject by Chief Engraver Barber.

Rarity Notes

JK-AC-27 (1884) in silver. Second "Chester A. Arthur" portrait. Silver presentation strikings are scarce.

Cross References

PCGS #972477; JK-AC-27; 1884 Assay Commission