1874 United States Assay Commission Medal. Silver. 33 mm. By William Barber. JK AC-13a. Rarity-5. Specimen-64 (PCGS). This wonderfully original specimen displays warm olive-charcoal patina on both sides, with obverse also revealing subtle champagne-apricot undertones. Modestly reflective in the fields, typical of the type, with a frosty texture on sharply struck design elements.With a mintage of at least 38 specimens, the 1874 has one of the higher press runs among Assay Commission medals from the 1870s. The increased production is primarily due to a request from Thomas Acton of the New York Assay Office, who had been selected to sit on the 1874 Commission. Acton requested up to 15 examples for distribution to friends in New York, and he received at least 10 pieces on March 4. Twenty five examples had already been struck on February 11, 1874; Mint officials James Pollock, Archibald Loudon Snowden, William Barber, Booth and DuBois each received one medal with the remaining going to either Mint Director Henry R. Linderman or the commissioners themselves. The German ambassador also received two examples on March 11. Much of this was done over protests from Superintendent Pollock, who opposed the loose distribution of these medals.Today, the 1874 is one of the more frequently encountered Assay Commission medals of its era, and it remains popular with collectors due to the use of the catafalque (funeral device) as the focal feature on the reverse. A similar reverse had been used for the 1873 Assay Commission medal to honor Jacob Eckfeldt. For the 1874 issue, the honoree is Professor J. Torrey, a noted chemist who had been appointed to the 1873 Commission by President Ulysses Grant. He was unable to attend, however, due to an illness that claimed his life on March 10, 1873. From the Richard Jewell Collection.
