1929 United States Assay Commission Medal. Bronze. 51 mm. By John R. Sinnock and Adam Pietz. JK AC-73a. Rarity-4. Edge Incuse S.R. EARL. MS-62 (NGC). The obverse exhibits olive-gray highlights on dominant reddish-brown patina, while the reverse has a more even golden-brown finish. Both sides are boldly defined. The reverse is Choice in quality and worthy of a higher grade on its own.The reverse design, used on several other issues, is one of the more popular in this series and shows the First Philadelphia Mint after the Edwin Lamasure painting commissioned by Frank Stewart. The Julian-Keusch reference states that 25 bronze medals were ordered for the 1929 Assay Commission meeting in 1929, all of which were delivered nine days later. Although the Rarity-4 rating does not suggest great rarity, this is the first example of JK AC-73 that we have offered since our (Stacks) November 2008 sale of the fabulous Keusch Collection. The edge of this piece is engraved to Commissioner S.R. Earl, who was incorrectly identified by Pessolano-Filos as S.R. Early. From the Richard Jewell Collection. Earlier from Heritages Long Beach Signature Auction of September 2006, lot 6612. Lot tag and collector tag with attribution notation included.
