I have just spent a wonderful evening going through a box of my Grandfather's keepsakes. He lived 1893-1975. There are some interesting coins- one is a 1948 Pakistani Quarter Rupee- I looked it up and found that it is rare and worth around $2.00! There are a few other interesting coins that are worth several dollars. But there is one that is driving me CRAZY! It is absolutely gorgeous. I've spent some time on line tonight trying to pin it down. The closest that I've come is a picture of it from an auction site that shows the 404 error page. On one side is a wonderful profile of President Wilson, pinz nez and all- and on the other side is a wonderful ... mural. Again I found a picuture from the defunct site. The back says Mint of the United States Annual Assay 1919. I'm sure that the picture is a wonderful allegory of some type. I have found the same profile of Wilson on other medals with 1920 and other dates, but I haven't found the one with the picture on back. I have copied the pictures from the web image. I would really like to know about it. I'm going to try to upload the pictures. Try being the operative word. Actually, these pictures do not do the coin justice. Thank you for taking a look!
Well.... I found out that the 404 error message site is an incredibly important company. I'm feeling kind of stupid. Stacks? The page with this coin was cached and I found that it sold at auction for $804.00 some years ago. I learned a bit of history about the commission and its annual medals. I'm honored to have one. Thanks, anyway.
Thank you very much. I found something else about it! It has my great great uncle's name engraved on the edge! Why on earth would that be there??????
Is it pitiful to keep replying to your own thread?... this is more of a blog.... a journey of discovery. Ok- So it seems that my great great uncle must have been a commissioner in 1919. He was a doctor- how did that work? I just don't know what to make of all this. Edited to update and hopefully release you all from my manic mision. I went back and checked Uncle Dick's obit. He was appointed to the commission during Wilson's term and served on it until his death in 1942. The obit says that he was chairman three years before his death. Chairman! The obit also said that he organized and was president of the bank in his town. So. Mystery solved. I would imagine that if he received other medals, they were spread through his family. He would have given this one to my grandmother because he raised her. Sigh. Now I can go to sleep. But then there is the 1838 5 kopek coin... and the...Ok, Ok. I set you free. I'm going to shut up!
Gawd I so hate Wilson. He gave us the income tax, IRS, World War 1, Federal Reserve, Commitee of Foreigen Relations what a jerk. :dead-horse:
Well, yes. But he was also responsible for me opening a box and finding a beautiful medal. I'm going to have to give him that. ...Could you point me in the direction of a good source for how to display the medal and how to clean or wash it without destroying it's patina. It just feels so dirty. Thanks!
I wouldn't clean it. Removing the patina could damage the medal and devalue it substantially. Keep all the information or documentation regarding your great great uncle with the medal. It establishes provenance which is extremely important for the history of the medal. This may add value.
Thank you ikcandiggit. I was just thinking that maybe soap and water would be ok- but I'll leave it alone. I have Uncle Dick's obit and I found a google book about the 1920 commission that lists him. I'll make sure that I put together information to keep with the coin. Coinman, I don't think that there is any doubt that he was a member of the commission. I'm going to try posting the paragraph of his obit that talks about the commission. But I'm having a terrible time working with this thread. I apparently did something to destroy any semblence of margins! I don't know that I can find the option to attach something. Argh!!! What did I do to cause this???
A few folks occasionally had the same experience. I'm not certain what the " fix " is. I kinda figured your uncle had reason to have his name engraved on the medal. I'd like to know the rest of the story.
Well, whatever the problem, I only have the option to do a quick reply- and I don't think that I can upload a picture through that. The paragraph reads: "... He was appointed a member of the Assay Commission of the United States Mint during the administration of President Woodrow Wilson and had served in that capacity until the time of his death (1942). About three years ago he was elected chairman of the Comission." And here is text from the Proceedings of the 1919 Assay Commission proceedings: ADJOURNMENT.The commission having brought its work to a satisfactory completion, on motion of Maj. Fischer, seconded by Mr. McNeil, adjourned sine die. William A. Ashbrook (chairman). G. E. Vaughan. George P. Darrow. Geo. P. Merrill. John L. McNeil. Herbert Adams. Richard P. Morris. Geo. C. Mclntyre. A. R. Johnston. Geo. Burnham, jr. C. L. McCracken. J. Whitaker Thompson, Michael F. Phelan. judge United States Dis Isaac E. Emerson. trict Court, Eastern Dis Calvin Page. trict of Pennsylvania, ex Vail Pittman. officio member. R. L. Alworth. Geo. R. Comings, assayer. Edward T. Newell. United States Assay Joseph A. Riordan. Office, New York, ex officio Louis A. Fischer. member. John W. Heck. ASSAY COMMISSION MEDAL.The Assay Commission medal, designed and made in the engraving department of the mint at Philadelphia, presented to the members of the commission, bears on the obverse side a head of the President of the United States, modeled from life by the engraver, Mr. George T. Morgan. The design on the reverse represents the god Mercury or Hermes, who was worshiped in classic times as the special patron of commerce and inventor of coined metal as a medium of exchange. He carries the well-known symbols of his powers, the caduceus, symbol of trade, and the purse, which have been associated with him since a very early period in Greek art. On the left of the figure is a reproduction of one of the earliest coins of ancient Greece, that struck at Miletus in Ionia. This coin is a type of the first period.- I hope that this has been readable... it's one unending line to me. Anyway.... this is an Aha moment from me. I am a family genealogist and I love, Love, documentation!!
Thats quite a piece of history there than . Thats a great collectible to perhaps hand down to one of your own children one day. Thank you for sharing this with us.
It will be a wonderful family treasure to pass on! I see that I didn't give poor Uncle Dick his name- He was Aquilla Richard Johnston, 1870-1942. Thank you for being interested in my quest- it's always more fun when you have someone to share "AHa" moments!!!
It sounds like your grandfather may have been one of the assay commission members - they all got medals (and typically, a very few additional medals were struck). Many of these pieces are EXTREMELY rare and very collectible. I have seen assay commission medals sell for $1000+. Unfortunately, I don't know the key dates well enough to give you an estimate.
Thank you so much. I did find that a medal just like mine sold at auction for a similar figure- but our family will want to pass it down. I've been looking at options to display it so that both sides will show. That was a wonderful few days finding out about the coin and Uncle Dick!!! Nancy Drew Inc. ) I've found something else that I'm going to research. I'll yell if I get stuck!
