1916 Assay Commission Medal - JK-AC-60, Silver, U.S. Treasury Seal

Coin Details

Auction Record

$18,000 SP63 08-23-2024 Stack's Bowers

Description

The 1916 Assay Commission medal in silver, cataloged as JK-AC-60, again features the Seal of the United States Treasury on the obverse, continuing the institutional design from the previous year. The 1916 commission met during one of the most significant years in American numismatic history — the "Triple Redesign" that introduced Adolph Weinman's Mercury dime and Walking Liberty half dollar alongside Hermon MacNeil's Standing Liberty quarter, collectively transforming the look of American silver coinage. These new designs represented the fruition of the aesthetic reform movement that Theodore Roosevelt had championed a decade earlier, and the 1916 Assay Commission would be among the first bodies to formally examine the new coins for compliance with statutory specifications. The silver version was produced in its customary tiny numbers for senior officials, making this a rare intersection of Assay Commission medal collecting and the celebrated 1916 coinage redesign.

Rarity Notes

JK-AC-60, silver (AR) composition. Very limited mintage. Struck during the landmark 1916 Triple Redesign year. Treasury Seal obverse design continued from 1915.

Cross References

PCGS #972612; JK-AC-60; U.S. Treasury Seal; 1916 Assay Commission