1909 Assay Commission Medal - JK-AC-53, Bronze, George B. Cortelyou

Coin Details

Auction Record

$720 SP65 08-23-2024 Stack's Bowers

Description

The 1909 Assay Commission medal in bronze, cataloged as JK-AC-53, features George B. Cortelyou, who served as Secretary of the Treasury from 1907 to 1909 under President Theodore Roosevelt. Cortelyou was a consummate political operative who had served as Roosevelt's personal secretary before rising through cabinet positions to lead the Treasury Department during the Panic of 1907 — one of the most severe financial crises in American history prior to the Great Depression. His appearance on the 1909 medal marked a departure from the six consecutive years of presidential portraits, reflecting the convention that Treasury Secretaries frequently appeared on Assay Commission medals given their direct authority over the Mint. The bronze composition indicates standard distribution to commission members at the annual February meeting in Philadelphia. The 1909 commission was notable as the first to examine Lincoln cents, which entered production that year to mark the centennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth.

Rarity Notes

JK-AC-53, bronze (AE) composition. First non-Roosevelt Assay Commission medal since 1902. Standard commission member distribution. Cortelyou served during the Panic of 1907.

Cross References

PCGS #514227; JK-AC-53; George B. Cortelyou; 1909 Assay Commission