1923 Assay Commission Medal - JK-AC-67, Bronze, Warren G. Harding

Coin Details

Auction Record

$1,020 SP65 08-23-2024 Stack's Bowers

Description

The 1923 Assay Commission medal in bronze, cataloged as JK-AC-67, features President Warren G. Harding on the obverse. Harding's portrait on the medal carries particular poignancy — he died on August 2, 1923, just months after the February commission meeting, making this one of the last official medallic portraits produced during his lifetime. The genial Ohio newspaper publisher had won the presidency in a 1920 landslide, promising a "return to normalcy" after the tumult of Wilson's years, but his administration was already plagued by the corruption scandals — particularly Teapot Dome — that would blacken his posthumous reputation. The 1923 Assay Commission proceedings examined coinage from a year of robust Mint production, including continued striking of the Peace dollar. The bronze composition marks this as a standard distribution piece for commission members.

Rarity Notes

JK-AC-67, bronze (AE) composition. Features Warren G. Harding, who died in August 1923. Standard commission distribution. One of the last medallic portraits of Harding during his lifetime.

Cross References

PCGS #972627; JK-AC-67; Warren G. Harding; 1923 Assay Commission