1869 United States Assay Commission Medal. By William Barber. JK AC-5. Rarity-5. No Stars. Copper. MS-64 BN PL (NGC).33 mm. Mirrored fields support satiny, smartly impressed design elements on both sides of this lovely Choice example. Dominant golden-copper patina with slight marbling of rose-brown. The Mint produced two varieties of Assay Commission medal in 1869, both by William Barber. JK AC-5 is the type that the Julian-Keusch reference states was actually passed out to Commission members at the February 1869 meeting, albeit in silver as opposed to copper, as offered here. JK AC-6 is scarcer in todays market, and it differs from AC-5 in design only by the addition of 13 stars around the obverse portrait. Both types exhibit Barbers seated Columbia motif as the central device on the obverse.From the Larry Baber Collection.
