1945 Medal JK-AC-90 Bronze Annual Assay Commission

Coin Details

Auction Record

$12,000 MS66 03-29-2023 Stack's Bowers

Description

The 1945 Assay Commission medal in bronze, cataloged as JK-AC-90, features the Annual Assay Commission theme rather than a specific individual portrait. The 1945 commission met in February, during the final months of World War II in Europe — Germany surrendered in May, and Japan in August following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. President Roosevelt, who had dominated the Assay Commission medal series over the previous decade, died on April 12, 1945, making the February commission meeting one of the last official proceedings of his presidency. The coinage examined at the 1945 proceedings included the final wartime nickel compositions and the shell-casing copper cents that would continue through 1946. The generic Annual Assay Commission design reflected the uncertainty of the transitional period or a deliberate choice to honor the institution itself rather than any individual during the closing months of the war.

Rarity Notes

JK-AC-90, bronze composition. Annual Assay Commission theme. Standard commission distribution. Produced during the final year of World War II; Roosevelt died in April 1945.

Cross References

PCGS #517775; JK-AC-90; Annual Assay Commission; 1945 Assay Commission