1962 Assay Commission Medal - JK-AC-106, Bronze, John F. Kennedy

Coin Details

Auction Record

$1,560 SP62 08-23-2024 Stack's Bowers

Description

The 1962 Assay Commission medal in bronze, cataloged as JK-AC-106, features President John F. Kennedy on the obverse. The "AE" designation confirms the standard bronze composition. This medal is particularly significant in retrospect, as Kennedy would be assassinated in Dallas on November 22, 1963 — making this one of the few official U.S. Mint medallic portraits produced during his lifetime. Kennedy's image would later become one of the most ubiquitous in American numismatics following the rapid creation of the Kennedy half dollar in early 1964, designed by Chief Engraver Gilroy Roberts (obverse) and Frank Gasparro (reverse). The Assay Commission medal portrait represents an independent rendering of Kennedy produced before the emotional urgency of the memorial coinage, offering a more deliberate and considered medallic interpretation of the young president during the optimistic early years of his administration.

Rarity Notes

JK-AC-106, bronze (AE) composition. Features JFK during his lifetime — predates the Kennedy half dollar by two years. Historically significant as a pre-assassination portrait.

Cross References

PCGS #514240; JK-AC-106; John F. Kennedy; 1962 Assay Commission