1879 United States Assay Commission Medal. Copper. 38 mm. By William Barber. JK AC-19b. Rarity-5. Specimen-64 BN (PCGS).Handsome copper-brown patina blankets both sides of this smartly impressed, sharply defined example. Satiny in texture and predominantly smooth, a few extremely faint carbon spots are all that seem to preclude an even higher numeric grade. The first of the larger format (38 vs 33 mm) Assay Commission medals, the 1879 was produced to the extent of at least four silver and 30 copper (or bronze) impressions. The reverse design symbolizes Joseph Henrys leadership of the Smithsonian Institution from 1846 through his death in 1878. The obverse design also commemorates a recent death, in this case that of Mint Director Henry R. Linderman who passed on January 27, 1879, only a short time before the meeting of the Commission that year.
