1894 Assay Commission Medal - JK-AC-38, Bronze, Grover Cleveland

Coin Details

Auction Record

$660 SP63BN 08-23-2024 Stack's Bowers

Description

The 1894 Assay Commission medal JK-AC-38 in bronze features a portrait of President Grover Cleveland, now in his second non-consecutive term and the first President in American history to serve two such terms. Cleveland's return to the Assay Commission medal series — after his first-term appearances on JK-AC-29 through JK-AC-32 — creates a unique collecting phenomenon: the same President appearing in two separate groups within the series. Cleveland's second term was consumed by the economic depression that followed the Panic of 1893. The President's successful push to repeal the Sherman Silver Purchase Act in November 1893 had stabilized the gold standard but done little to relieve the broader economic suffering. The 1894 Assay Commission tested coins from a year of crisis, adding gravity to the routine verification process. Charles Barber's portrait of the second-term Cleveland naturally differs from his earlier renderings, reflecting both the passage of time and the burdens of office that the depression had imposed. The bronze JK-AC-38 marks the beginning of Cleveland's second run in the series, which would extend through his remaining years in office and create a parallel to the first-term sequence for collectors pursuing the complete Cleveland sub-collection.

Rarity Notes

JK-AC-38 (1894) in bronze (AE). First second-term "Grover Cleveland" portrait, resuming after the Harrison interlude.

Cross References

PCGS #512376; JK-AC-38; 1894 Assay Commission