1897 Assay Commission Medal - JK-AC-41, Copper, Grover Cleveland

Coin Details

Description

The 1897 Assay Commission medal JK-AC-41 in copper features the final Grover Cleveland portrait in the standard distribution metal. The copper version ensured that all commission members received a tangible memorial of the departing President's service and the commission's own work during the transitional year between the Cleveland and McKinley administrations. Cleveland's legacy on the Assay Commission medals spans eight annual issues across two terms, creating one of the richest presidential sub-collections in the series. The copper JK-AC-41 serves as the accessible conclusion to this sequence, providing a standard-issue piece that collectors can pair with the scarcer silver version for a complete documentation of Cleveland's final commission year. The transition to the McKinley era would bring significant changes to the Assay Commission's context, as McKinley's commitment to the gold standard — formalized in the Gold Standard Act of 1900 — would settle the monetary debate that had defined the previous decade. Cleveland's departure thus marked the end of an era of monetary uncertainty, and his final copper Assay Commission medal serves as a closing chapter in that turbulent story.

Rarity Notes

JK-AC-41 (1897) in copper. Final "Grover Cleveland" portrait. Standard distribution piece concluding the Cleveland era.

Cross References

PCGS #512389; JK-AC-41; 1897 Assay Commission