1934 Assay Commission Medal - JK-AC-79, Bronze, Mount Vernon

Coin Details

Auction Record

$960 SP68 11-18-2020 Stack's Bowers

Description

The 1934 Assay Commission medal in bronze, cataloged as JK-AC-79, returns to the Mount Vernon motif for the second time in three years, though now under President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration. The 1934 commission met during the early months of the New Deal, when Roosevelt's radical economic programs were transforming the role of the federal government in American life. The Gold Reserve Act of January 1934 had raised the official price of gold from $20.67 to $35.00 per ounce, effectively devaluing the dollar and ending the traditional gold standard — a momentous change that the Assay Commission's proceedings would reflect in the coinage standards they examined. The Mount Vernon design provided continuity with the 1932 Washington bicentennial medals while avoiding the political complications of placing either the outgoing Republican or incoming Democratic president on the medal during this transitional period. The bronze composition indicates standard commission member distribution.

Rarity Notes

JK-AC-79, bronze (AE) composition. Mount Vernon design. Standard commission distribution. Produced during the transformative first year of the New Deal and the Gold Reserve Act.

Cross References

PCGS #518615; JK-AC-79; Mount Vernon; 1934 Assay Commission