1913 Assay Commission Medal - JK-AC-57, Bronze, William H. Taft

Coin Details

Auction Record

$1,140 SP65 08-23-2024 Stack's Bowers

Description

The 1913 Assay Commission medal in bronze, cataloged as JK-AC-57, features President William Howard Taft in the fourth and final year of his appearance on the series. Although Taft had lost the November 1912 election to Woodrow Wilson, his portrait appeared on the 1913 medal because the annual assay commission met in February, before Wilson's March 4 inauguration. This makes the 1913 medal a transitional piece — bearing the likeness of an outgoing president at the very end of his term. Taft would go on to serve as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1921 to 1930, the only person to hold both the presidency and the nation's highest judicial office. The 1913 commission examined coinage from a year that included the debut of James Earle Fraser's iconic Buffalo nickel, making the proceedings particularly notable from a numismatic perspective. The bronze composition marks this as the standard distribution piece for commission members.

Rarity Notes

JK-AC-57, bronze (AE) composition. Final Taft Assay Commission medal. Transitional piece struck during Taft's last weeks in office before Wilson's inauguration.

Cross References

PCGS #518448; JK-AC-57; William H. Taft; 1913 Assay Commission