1926 United States Assay Commission Medal. Bronze. 51 mm. By John R. Sinnock. JK AC-70a. Rarity-4. Edge Incuse FREAS STYER. MS-64 (NGC). Dominant tannish-gold patina with blushes of olive-gray and pale rose that are most prominent in the upper right obverse field. Boldly rendered and fully original in preservation.This issue features the third portrait of President Calvin Coolidge on the Assay Commission medal in as many years. The reverse, with a seated woman preparing to weigh coins on a scale, is executed in low relief, in keeping with the standards of the late 1920s and 1930s. The Mint delivered 50 bronze impressions from these dies on February 12, 1926 in fulfillment of an order placed February 1. Remarkably, the present example is one of two included in our (Stacks) November 2008 sale of the Keusch Collection. Perhaps even more remarkably, we have not handled another (i.e., different) specimen since.The original recipient of this medal, Freas Styer, was superintendent of the Philadelphia Mint at the time. From the Richard Jewell Collection. Earlier from our (Stacks) sale of the Ernest E. Keusch Collection of United States Assay Medals, 1860-1977, November 2008, lot 5322. Lot tag included.
