Not all So-Called Dollars are as interesting as these two.
Anyone who has paid attention to my involvement at the U.S. Coin Forum probably knows I collect So-Called Dollars. Lately, over the past six months to a year this area has slowed a little for me. Lots of medals are still being offered but for me those listings at all sites have tended to be in two categories --- medals which aren't what I'm looking for or medals which are just too ridiculously priced to even consider buying. Some have been noted here by different members.
Currently there are two listed that are just so cool I thought I would post about them here.
The first one is actually scheduled to sell tomorrow at the ANA through Heritage Auctions. It is previously unrecorded and possibly unique reverse variety of HK-1000A. If you follow the link below you can see the clearly different Eagle posed on the reverse. The silver version has really come out of the woodwork during the past decade, prompting such astute collectors as justacommeman to reach out and buy one. I owned a vanilla HK-1 which was used as the plate medal on the 2nd Edition of Hibler/Kappen, but this one really strikes me as nice.......................and unique!!!
https://coins.ha.com/itm/so-called-dollars/tokens-and-medals/1825-erie-canal-completion-medal-first-reverse-ms63-prooflike-ngc-hk-1000a-unique/a/1278-4933.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515
The second one is a medal listed at eBay, HK-528 which is a Gold Alaska-Hawaii Statehood medal. It's also quite rare and the listed medal is number 19 of 25 issued. I was surprised to see it listed at eBay and think it would sell easily at a major auction. These are common enough in the various planchet types but this is the first Gold one I have seen. The link below will take you to the online SC$ reference followed by a link to the eBay auction.
https://so-calleddollars.com/Events/Alaska_Hawaii_Statehood.html
Enjoy.
Al H.
Comments
Whoa.
--Severian the Lame
I suspect that the HK-1000A may finish past $50K which is incredible.
Wow, I like it !!!
Aloha nui loa !!!
Very nice. Got two of these:
Wisconsin So-Called-Dollar. Medal commemorates 100th anniversary as territory, not Statehood, Wisconsin having been admitted to Union May 29, 1848. Legislature created Wisconsin Centennial, Inc. 1933 with $500 appropriation, later increased. Celebration was state-wide, highlight being presentation of pageant, "Centennial Cavalcade of Wisconsin," in stadium of University of Wisconsin, Madison, June 27-July 5, 1936; "witnessed by at least 75,000 spectators."
This was official medal, sponsored and designed by Commission; 1,500 pieces struck in Bronze; sold for $1.
Obv. Capitol building, clouds behind; at base on small ribbon 1936; smaller edifice to l.; at base, on small ribbon 1836; above all, around Wisconsin Territorial Centennial; below all is prone animal (badger?) on dotted line.
Rev. Eagle in upper center panel; to l. 19 / June / 27, to r. 36 / July / 5; above at border Madison; below panel Official / Wisconsin /Centennial / Celebration; stars all around at border. HK-696 Bronze. 37mm., Scarce.
I bid on it for fun, bit I couldn't bring myself to go 5 digits
Questionable resale potential.
I have several of these as well as I was born in WI - later examples exhibit a big die crack on the reverse from about 7 o'clock to the body of the eagle. The die probably didn't last much longer. Crude phone photo below to illustrate.
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
My digital cameo album 1950-64 Cameos - take a look!
Questionable resale potential
over the course of the past 20 years I have never had trouble selling SC$'s when I choose to do that. I think that if a collector approaches these medals the same as coins that the result should be predictable. that approach should be an interesting, beautiful design, higher grade and R-6+ rarity. in fact, the higher the rarity coupled with the grade makes the easiest sale as long as the design is nice.
of the two medals listed, the HK-1000A will never have difficulty re-selling but the Alaska-Hawaii may indeed be tough. looking at the Wisconsin, it is a design I really like but is too common so I have yet to buy one. that's not to say I won't or that I don't have common, R-2 and R-3 medals in my collection, I just have never bought a Wisconsin.
@keets
I like the designs of the HK-1000 and 528 but never found an example I could get excited about owning without blowing my coin budget for the year. So I stuck to medals that were either near my lifetime stomping grounds in WI, MI, and NC with a few other interesting pieces mixed in.
I'll admit to going overboard picking up extra examples of the Wisconsin piece as I have them raw in flips and the original packaging, plus a few in holders. I like the design and understand that the market is probably limited to Badgers or ex-Badgers residents.
On a totally different topic, I have run across a few pieces that are not listed in H&K. They tend to be different die marriages from international expos where they depict the different pavilions. I'll try to dig them out for more specifics.
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
My digital cameo album 1950-64 Cameos - take a look!
Wow...that Alaska/Hawaii gold piece is BIN at $10.1K....I do not see the weight listed at all...Nice piece but must be a very narrow market. Cheers, RickO
some SC$'s do have a very narrow interest, especially the local issues. even there, though, some issues that are not well known and from a very localized, obscure part of the Country can have strong sales if they were well done.