1895 Assay Commission Medal - JK-AC-39, Bronze, Grover Cleveland

Coin Details

Auction Record

$4,800 SP65BN 08-23-2024 Stack's Bowers

Description

The 1895 Assay Commission medal JK-AC-39 in bronze features the second consecutive second-term Grover Cleveland portrait, struck during the nadir of the 1890s depression. Cleveland's presidency was deeply embattled by 1895, with the gold reserve crisis requiring the President to negotiate an emergency bond sale with J.P. Morgan and other financiers to prevent the Treasury from defaulting on its obligation to redeem paper currency in gold. The gold reserve crisis gave the Assay Commission's work an urgency it had rarely possessed. The commission's verification that gold coins met statutory fineness standards was no longer a mere formality — it touched directly on the question of whether the government could maintain the gold standard that Cleveland had fought so hard to preserve. Every gold coin tested by the 1895 commission represented a piece of the gold reserve that was the subject of intense national anxiety. The bronze JK-AC-39 served as the standard distribution piece during this crisis year, providing commission members with a tangible reminder of their service during one of the most consequential periods in the commission's history. Cleveland's portrait on the medal conveyed both presidential authority and the personal toll that the economic crisis was exacting on the nation's chief executive.

Rarity Notes

JK-AC-39 (1895) in bronze (AE). Second "Grover Cleveland" second-term portrait, during the depths of the 1890s depression.

Cross References

PCGS #512379; JK-AC-39; 1895 Assay Commission