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

Coin Details

Auction Record

$960 SP62 08-23-2024 Stack's Bowers

Description

The 1894 Assay Commission medal JK-AC-38 in silver is a presentation striking of the first second-term Cleveland portrait. The silver composition creates a premium version of this historically significant medal, marking the unprecedented return of a President to the Assay Commission series after a gap in his service. Cleveland's second-term silver medal carries the weight of the economic depression that defined his return to office. The President had expended enormous political capital to repeal the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, alienating western and southern Democrats and splitting his own party. The silver from which this medal is struck had been at the center of the most bitter political debate of the era — Cleveland's victory on the repeal question came at the cost of party unity that would not be restored for a generation. Silver presentation strikings from Cleveland's second term document an administration under siege from economic depression, political division, and growing labor unrest. The Pullman Strike of 1894 would add industrial conflict to Cleveland's troubles, making the second-term presidency a far more tumultuous experience than the relatively placid first term. The silver JK-AC-38 captures the beginning of this difficult chapter.

Rarity Notes

JK-AC-38 (1894) in silver (AR). First second-term "Grover Cleveland" portrait. Silver strikings are scarce.

Cross References

PCGS #512413; JK-AC-38; 1894 Assay Commission