1912 Assay Commission Medal - JK-AC-56, Silver, William H. Taft

Coin Details

Auction Record

$1,800 MS64 03-31-2021 Stack's Bowers

Description

The 1912 Assay Commission medal in silver, cataloged as JK-AC-56, features President William Howard Taft in the third year of his appearance on the series. The 1912 medal was produced during Taft's final full year in office — the three-way presidential race between Taft, Theodore Roosevelt's Progressive "Bull Moose" Party, and Democrat Woodrow Wilson would result in Taft's crushing defeat in November 1912, carrying only Utah and Vermont. The silver version was reserved for the most senior participants in the annual proceedings, and its very limited production makes it one of the scarcer Taft-era Assay Commission medals. The 1912 commission examined coinage from a year that saw the introduction of James Earle Fraser's Buffalo nickel design, though the new nickel would not enter production until February 1913 and thus was not among the coins tested at the 1912 proceedings. The reverse carries the standard assay inscription and date.

Rarity Notes

JK-AC-56, silver (AR) composition. Very limited mintage. Third year of Taft portraits. Produced during Taft's final full year as president before his 1912 electoral defeat.

Cross References

PCGS #972604; JK-AC-56; William H. Taft; 1912 Assay Commission