1939 United States Assay Commission Medal. Gilt Bronze. 57 mm. By John R. Sinnock and Adam Pietz. JK AC-84, var. Unique(?). Specimen-65 (PCGS). An interesting and highly significant, possibly unique gilt example of JK AC-84. Beautiful sandblast surfaces are virtually undisturbed and exhibit even antique gold patina. The devices are boldly rendered, and the eye appeal is outstanding.Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau, Jr. is depicted on the obverse of this years Assay Commission medal. He stirred up controversy at the end of World War II with his plan to reduce Germany to an agrarian nation. His unauthorized handover of glass printing plates for Allied Occupation currency to the Soviet Union also caused enormous harm to plans to create a unified, democratic Germany. The reverse design is among the more popular in this series as it depicts the old Mint technique of pouring molten metal into ingot molds, which would later be rolled out to provide planchet strips for coinage. The Julian-Keusch reference lists this medal only in bronze, and indeed the only example of this type offered in our (Stacks) November 2008 sale of the extensive Keusch Collection was in that composition. This is the only gilt example of JK AC-84 that we can recall handling, and it may very well be unique in this fabric. It is at least very rare, and is a piece that would serve as a highlight in another advanced collection of this popular medal series. From the Richard Jewell Collection. Earlier from our Baltimore Auction of March 2016, lot 12048.
