1885 Assay Commission Medal - JK-AC-28, Bronze, Chester A. Arthur

Coin Details

Auction Record

$3,120 SP67BN 08-23-2024 Stack's Bowers

Description

The 1885 Assay Commission medal JK-AC-28 in bronze features the third and final Chester A. Arthur portrait in the series, struck during the first year of Grover Cleveland's presidency. Like the earlier transition from Hayes to Garfield, the medal production timeline meant that the outgoing President's image appeared on the medal for the year following his departure from office. Arthur's three appearances on Assay Commission medals (JK-AC-26 through JK-AC-28) constitute one of the longer presidential runs in the series' early history, creating a compact visual record of his administration. The bronze JK-AC-28 serves as the capstone of this sub-series, marking the end of Arthur's association with the Assay Commission medal program and the beginning of the Cleveland era. The 1885 Assay Commission tested coins from 1884, a year when silver dollar production under the Bland-Allison Act continued to generate political controversy. The incoming Cleveland administration would maintain the status quo on silver policy, but the issue remained a source of intense debate that would ultimately reach its crescendo in the 1896 presidential election.

Rarity Notes

JK-AC-28 (1885) in bronze (AE). Third and final "Chester A. Arthur" portrait, completing the Arthur sub-series.

Cross References

PCGS #512346; JK-AC-28; 1885 Assay Commission