1939 Assay Commission Medal - JK-AC-84, Bronze, Henry Morgenthau Jr.

Coin Details

Auction Record

$456 SP63 08-23-2024 Stack's Bowers

Description

The 1939 Assay Commission medal in bronze, cataloged as JK-AC-84, features Henry Morgenthau Jr., Secretary of the Treasury under President Roosevelt from 1934 to 1945. Morgenthau was one of Roosevelt's closest friends and advisors, and his eleven-year tenure as Treasury Secretary was the second-longest in American history. He oversaw the Treasury during the transition from Depression-era austerity to the massive wartime spending that financed American participation in World War II. The 1939 commission met as Europe hovered on the brink of war — Germany had already annexed Austria and the Sudetenland, and the September 1939 invasion of Poland would trigger the global conflict. Morgenthau's portrait on the medal acknowledged his central role in managing the nation's finances during this critical period. The bronze composition indicates standard distribution to commission members at the annual Philadelphia Mint proceedings.

Rarity Notes

JK-AC-84, bronze (AE) composition. Features Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau Jr. Standard commission distribution. Produced on the eve of World War II in Europe.

Cross References

PCGS #972651; JK-AC-84; Henry Morgenthau Jr.; 1939 Assay Commission