1937 Assay Commission Medal - JK-AC-82, Bronze, Thomas Jefferson

Coin Details

Auction Record

$6,600 MS66 06-23-2020 Stack's Bowers

Description

The 1937 Assay Commission medal in bronze, cataloged as JK-AC-82, features Thomas Jefferson on the obverse rather than a contemporary figure. Jefferson's appearance on the medal reflected the growing interest in Jeffersonian democracy during the New Deal era, when Roosevelt frequently invoked the third president's populist legacy to justify his own expansion of federal power. The 1937 commission examined coinage from a year of significant numismatic change — the Mint was beginning to reduce the proliferation of commemorative half dollars that had characterized the mid-1930s, and Roosevelt's controversial court-packing plan dominated the political landscape. Jefferson would soon appear on a circulating coin as well, when Felix Schlag's design for the Jefferson nickel debuted in 1938, replacing the Buffalo nickel that had been in production since 1913. The bronze composition marks standard distribution to commission members.

Rarity Notes

JK-AC-82, bronze composition. Features Thomas Jefferson. Standard commission distribution. Jefferson appeared on the nickel beginning the following year (1938).

Cross References

PCGS #517749; JK-AC-82; Thomas Jefferson; 1937 Assay Commission