1938 United States Assay Commission Medal. Bronze. 56 mm. By John R. Sinnock. JK AC-83a, Greenslet GM-148. Rarity-6. Edge Incuse H.W. BEARCE. MS-63 (NGC). The warm golden-bronze finish exhibits blushes of rose-gray patina that are more pronounced on the obverse. Boldly defined with a handsome sandblast texture.Popular with specialists, the 1938 is the only issue in the Assay Commission medal series with a portrait that is not related to the presidency, Mint or Treasury Department. The bust of Franklin is modified from one that the Mint originally used on the 200th anniversary of his birth in 1906, and was later modified by Sinnock for the Franklin half dollar first issued in 1948. The present example is comparable to the Keusch Collection specimen sold as lot 5335 in our (Stacks) November 2008 sale.Originally presented to Dr. Henry W. Bearce, an official at the National Bureau of Standards who, among other things, also served on the 1943 Assay Commission. Accompanied by the original fitted red leather case with plush interior, Extremely Fine with light to moderate signs of handling, mostly on the base and at the lower right corner. (Total: 1 medal; 1 case) From the Richard Jewell Collection. Earlier from Presidential Coin & Antique Co., Inc.s Auction Seventy-Nine, June 2009, lot 360. Lot tag and collector tag with attribution notation included.
