High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The United States Assay Commission was an agency of the United States government from 1792 to 1980. Its function was to annually supervise the testing of the gold and silver coins produced by the United States Mint to ensure that they met specifications. Although some members were designated by statute, for the most part the Commission, which was freshly appointed each year, consisted of prominent Americans, including numismatists. Appointment to the Commission was eagerly sought after—for one thing, commissioners received a medal, different each year and, with the exception of the 1977 issue which was sold to the general public, extremely rare.