1920 Gold Wilson Dollar - Manila Mint Opening - HK-1031
Zoins
Posts: 33,910 ✭✭✭✭✭
I'm a fan of the so-called Wilson Dollar issued for the opening of the Manila Mint. It was designed by Clifford Hewitt and engraved by George Morgan. I've been tracking pieces in silver and bronze but recently started looking into the gold specimens. There aren't too many full size gold So-Called Dollars so I thought this was pretty special at 38mm. There are also only a few of these so It thought it would be useful to assemble the known information.
HK 2nd edition indicates this is a R9 which is "2-4" known. HA estimates 3 back in 2008 and 5 2013. PCGS indicates a mintage of 8. From the 2013 auction:
A total of 5 pieces were supposedly struck, of which one was give to President Wilson, and one to U.S. Secretary of War David Houston. The three remaining pieces were kept in the Philippines.
A March 12, 2019 NGC article says the following:
Supposedly, only 5 gold medals were struck, with one presented to Wilson himself, and another given to the Secretary of War, with three other examples retained in the Philippines and lost during World War II. In recent years, five examples have come to auction, with the finest known — graded NGC MS 62 — bringing $74,750 in 2008. A sixth example was certified by NGC in 2017, and is pictured below.
There are a few known specimens:
- PCGS MS62 - Lednicky Specimen - PCGS 37613840
- NGC MS62 - NGC 1784584-004 - Heritage 7/2008 lot 2151, Heritage 5/2008 lot 23156, Heritage 4/2008 lot 2531, Stack's 12/1996 lot 2927.
- NGC MS61 - Stack's 1/2008 lot 7298 - Identified by a mark on Juno's shoulder.
- NGC MS60 - NGC March 12, 2019 article
- PCGS AU55 - Knight-Pineda Specimen - PCGS 24592857 - Heritage 1/2013 lot 22446 (no longer verifies) - PCGS 37231894 - Heritage 8/2019 $33,600.00
- ANACS Unc Details - Cleaned - Net MS 60 - ANACS 1040348 - MonsterCoinMart 2018, Stack's 3/2015.
- NGC Unc Details - Mount Removed - NGC 5206198-001 - Heritage 2/2008 lot 81185.
Of note, there is also a possibly unique brass no-M specimen.
Wilson Dollar in Gold HK-1031 PCGS MS62 - Lednicky Specimen
This specimen was owned by Victor E. Lednicky (1888-1970):
The example being offered at Austin Auction’s July 21 sale has a providence that dates back to the 19th century and the estate of Victor E. Lednicky. Lednicky was an interesting figure that featured prominently in Philippine history during the first half of the 20th century. At the time the Wilson medal was struck, Lednicky resided in Manila and worked as the Chief of the Division of Mines and Mining of the Bureau of Science. This position helped him secure the job of President of the Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company, the Philippines’ leading gold producer.
During World War II, Lednicky served as General Douglas MacArthur’s civilian liaison for Manila and after the war gave testimony about the actions of the Japanese military during its occupation of the Philippines.
This specimen was likely graded in 2019 as the TrueView uses the new template and it was mentioned in the 2019 August PCGS AU55 Heritage lot description.
It was offered in 2019 by Austin Auction Gallery with a starting bid of $55K and and a 23% Buyer's Premium for a total of $67,650. The lot was passed.
Diagnostics:
- Obverse mark below bust
- Reverse hit above "N" in MINT
- Reverse hits below 2 "A"s in MANILA
Links:
- PCGS Certification: https://www.pcgs.com/cert/37613840
- PCGS CoinFacts: https://www.pcgs.com/coinfacts/coin/1920-medal-x-11b-wilson-gold/510535
- CoinWeek July 10, 2019 article: https://coinweek.com/auctions-news/extremely-rare-1920-wilson-dollar-in-gold-to-be-offered-at-july-21-austin-auction-sale/
- Austin Auction Gallery July 21, 2019 auction Lot 0955 - $55K start - Passed
- Victor E. Lednicky (1888-1970) genealogy
Wilson Dollar in Gold HK-1031 NGC MS62 (PCGS MS62)
This is the highest NGC graded example and surfaced 3 times in 2008. Notably that while this is the highest graded, Juno's hair appears not fully struck while it does on the others.
This coin has been reportedly crossed to PCGS as PCGS 25247934, however, there are no photos or printed info to confirm as of yet.
- Heritage July-August 2008 - $74,750.00
- Heritage May 2008 - Not Sold
- Heritage April 2008 - $69,000
- Stack's December 1996 lot 2927
- NGC Certification: https://www.ngccoin.com/certlookup/1784584-004/62/
While I was matting the photos from Heritage, I accidentally produced the following which I thought looked pretty neat:
Wilson Dollar in Gold HK-1031 NGC MS61
The NGC MS61 is identified by the following from Stack's:
For identification there are two nearly vertical nicks at the top of Wilson's forehead below H(E), and a small nick on Juno Moneta's shoulder on the reverse. It is noteworthy that the MS-62 example sold last year does not have as sharp a strike, as Juno Moneta's head is quite poorly stuck on that example, but is sharp on this example.
- Stack's August 2013 - $50,525
- Stack's September 2009 - $56,350
- Stack's January 2009 - Passed
- Stack's January 2008 - $70,000
- NGC Certification: https://www.ngccoin.com/certlookup/1784584-004/62/
Wilson Dollar in Gold HK-1031 NGC MS60
This specimen was mentioned in a March 12, 2019 NGC article titled The 1920 Wilson Dollar: A Counterfeited Rarity.
A sixth example of HK-1031 was certified by NGC. This piece has a prominent mark adjacent to the "R" in "PRESIDENT". It graded NGC MS 60.
Diagnostics:
- Obverse gouge under R in PRESIDENT
- Obverse marks around N in UNITED
Links:
Wilson Dollar in Gold HK-1031 PCGS AU55 - Knight-Pineda Specimen
This specimen was attributed to the Dr. Greg Pineda Philippine Collection (Lyn Knight, 6/2012) in the Heritage August 2019 auction.
This coin showed up at Heritage in 2013 as PCGS 24592857 Secure and has been re-certified as PCGS 83784389 Standard as of 2018. The medal is PCGS AU55 in both cases.
The Stack's September 2009 description for NGC MS61 indicates a NGC AU58 was present in the NGC population. If the mintage is limited fo 5 for HK-1031, then this PCGS AU55 may have formerly been the NGC AU58.
Diagnostics:
- Obverse jaw distinctive diagonal mark
Links:
- Heritage August 2019 - $33,600.00
- Heritage January 2013 - $44,062.50
- PCGS certification: https://www.pcgs.com/cert/83784389 (no longer certifies)
- PCGS certification (7/19): https://www.pcgs.com/cert/37231894
- PCGS pops
- PCGS CoinFacts
The PCGS TrueView image from 2018 is below:
The 2019 PCGS 37231894 SecurePlus image is below:
Wilson Dollar in Gold HK-1031 ANACS Unc Details - Cleaned - Net MS 60
This coin is now PCGS 39215465. It used to be ANACS 1040348.
This coin is in an old ANACS small, white holder and is currently being offered by MonsterCoinMart on eBay.
- PCGS Cert 39215465
- Heritage April 2020 Central States
- Offered at $37,500.00 by MonsterCoinMart
- Stack's Bowers passed - March 2015 Baltimore - ANACS 1040348
Wilson Dollar in Gold HK-1031 NGC Unc Details - Mount Removed
Comments
Looks like same models for the Pan-Pac half dollar...only squatting down to fit on the much smaller coin...and the kid grew up a little...five years difference between coins.
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The reverse of the 1920 Wilson dollar is similar to the reverse of the 1882
Assay Commission medal, shown here. The original 1882 design was by
Charles Barber and was adapted by George Morgan for the 1920 medal.
Nice gold coins... the reverse design shows what can be done when artists are allowed to design coins...If only we could eliminate 'design by committee', commercialism and PC considerations and produce beautiful coins. Cheers, RickO
Nice!
Great note @denga.
Of note, a similar design was used for the 1890 assay medal as well:
The following is from this thread:
https://coins.www.collectors-society.com/wcm/CoinView.aspx?sc=65644
I believe Justin (Monstercoinmart.com) has (2) of the very rare gold Wilson pieces on eBay, including a PCGS graded coin. Both consignment coins. They are incredible coins!
Wondercoin.
Great info @wondercoin. Justin's PCGS is the same as the from Heritage in 2013. I've updated the info and TrueView above.
I noticed the PCGS medal isn't on http://monstercoinmart.com/
Given that HK says 5 were minted and 5 examples are known, it seems like all may be accounted for.
Although there appears to be no photo of NGC MS61, the description indicates there's a mark on Juno's shoulder and no mark appears on PCGS AU55.
Zoins... thanks for pointing that out. I forwarded that to Justin so he could correct that this week.
Wondercoin.
Photos have been added for NGC MS61 and NCS Mount Removed specimens, so with the set of 5, it appears all of the 5 pieces mentioned by HK 2nd edition are accounted for.
It's interesting that all 5 have been offered since 2008, coincidentally when HK 2nd edition was published.
I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised to find the old 2008-2009 listings for the NGC MS61 specimen on Stack's. Hopefully they will continue to improve the longevity of their archives.
Here's a photo of the Mint staff:
https://coins.www.collectors-society.com/wcm/CoinCustomSetView.aspx?s=13492
I don't really have anything to add other than I have looked for quite some time to add a Silver Wilson SCD to my collection. One that is affordable
and of course nice toning.
I have seen a few gold auctioned and must look spectacular in hand. Thanks for posting this @zoins
.
CoinsAreFun Toned Silver Eagle Proof Album
.
Gallery Mint Museum, Ron Landis& Joe Rust, The beginnings of the Golden Dollar
.
More CoinsAreFun Pictorials NGC
Here is information on the obverse die retrieved by Lloyd V. Spriggle who served in the US Army in Manila when the US Mint was sacked by the Japanese.
The article is here but I cannot access the photos at the moment:
https://www.coinworld.com/news/us-coins/2012/01/wilson-dollar-medal-obverse-die-surfaces.all.html
Here's his account of finding the die:
Of note, his family didn't realize the significance of the die and it was used as a paper weight for many years.
Here's a thread proposing that George Thomas Morgan designed this medal instead of Clifford Hewitt, who is commonly credited.
@RogerB had some input into this thread.
https://www.ngccoin.com/boards/topic/270254-numismatic-detective-unraveling-a-numismatic-myth-by-jaa-usaphilippines-collection/
Has any new thoughts occurred in this area?
The PCGS AU55 specimen is available at ANA this year. The Heritage description indicates this is the Knight-Pineda specimen owned by Lyn Knight and Dr. Greg Pineda. I updated the top post with this info.
I'm curious to see what this brings.
the reverse design shows what can be done when artists are allowed to design coins
while I will agree with this in principal the design is rather odd to me. the figure of "Justice" is strangely proportioned and the figure of the "youth" just looks weird, especially the head. if you look at artwork from that period it isn't unusual for children to be depicted as tiny adults. it is then further perverted by the 1920 design.
it seems the design was taken from something previously done instead of being an original, inspired creation, a fact lost on me until this thread, but that isn't unusual for Coin/Medal design.
They are incredible coins!
aside from being enamored by Gold, why are they so incredible??
Nice coin
To me, they are incredible because they were made to commemorate a US Branch Mint opening
... and they are gold
I actually like all the metals but the gold is interesting to trace from a condition census perspective because there are so few of them.
Sold for more than $44,000.00 at last appearance at Heritage 6 1/2 years ago. Many other rare USPI coins being auctioned with it... 1906-S Peso in MS61, 1912-S Peso in MS64+, 1918-S Mule in MS63 to name a few!
Wondercoin
they are incredible because they were made to commemorate a US Branch Mint opening
probably not as "incredible" because there are just too many of them, but more "historically significant" to me.
https://ebay.com/itm/1946-U-N-Gold-Monetary-Pattern-HK-873/163763831009?hash=item262115c0e1:g:92oAAOSw2sFdHXV6
Too many of what? There are only 6 known of the gold specimens. Also quantity doesn’t normally affect incredibility for me.
I don't understand why you brought up the UN Monetary Pattern. What does it have to do with the US Philippines Branch Mint opening? It seems irrelevant to the current discussion to me.
In any event, "incredible" is subjective so it's good that you added "to me" after suggesting they are more historically significant than incredible to you. Since "incredible" is subjective, your thinking that they are not need not have any effect on @wondercoin and myself thinking that they are
I don't understand why are you nitpicking on a subjective term. Do you have something against these So-Called Dollars?
I happen to think they are among the most incredible HK-cataloged So-Called Dollars
incredible --- impossible to believe; difficult to believe, extraordinary.
I have never been one who's amazed and transfixed by Gold. the Wilson Dollar is interesting to me because it comes from the only branch Mint outside of the continental US, so it is significant. other than that I can find no reason to be really excited about a Gold example. the Wilson Dollar shares a characteristic with some other SC$'s in being what I refer to as a cross-over collectible, sought by mainstream Hobbyists, medals such as Pedlay-Ryan and Lesher Dollars. given the number of medals encapsulated by NGC, the Copper and Silver medals are continually bid past what is reasonable. I accept this a demand driven by mainstream collectors and move on. do you find HK-449/450 to be incredible as well??
such is the case with this Gold Wilson Dollar. it is priced at many times what a comparably numbered non-Wilson Dollar is priced at for the same reason. what is incredible about a Gold medal that isn't incredible about a Copper or Silver medal?? why is the Gold medal so difficult to believe??
there are other SC$ Gold medals with comparable numbers and aesthetically more pleasing designs which sell for much less than HK-1031 --- because mainstream collectors don't want them. that is what I find incredible.
one final thought before I get on with the day --- I don't believe the numbers listed by Hibler-Kappen and presume more medals were struck.
consider the Eutopia Dollars which Hibler-Kappen clearly stated as three existing and something like the dies are said to have broken on third impression. I took it upon myself to research that a little bit before I made a purchase I might regret, spending too much based on faulty numbers. I stopped when my count was around 8-10 based on diagnostics. there is a medal listed on eBay right now that I don't recall seeing, so there are other out there to be found.
coming back to the Gold Wilson Dollar I don't believe the records of only five struck. you have verified five in this thread and I don't believe any of them would be medals recovered from the ocean. maybe, but I doubt it. also, the two "Presentation pieces" should have an intact Provenance, especially the Presidential medal, and I doubt that they would be at a low grade like those verified. they are probably still held by the heirs or the recipients.
To paraphrase your post, it seems your issues are two fold:
When you say "accept this a demand driven by mainstream collectors and move on" it seems like you mean if a piece has main-stream collectors you avoid it because the prices are "past what is reasonable". Reasonable prices are based on demand and given that there is more demand for cross-over pieces, the "reasonable" price should be higher when compared to prices for non-cross-over pieces. Do you think "reasonable" price shouldn't take into account demand?
You don't have to like gold, but it seems like you actively dislike it as you've gone out of your way to express your non-interest several times. Do you dislike others liking gold?
I do think these pieces are incredible per your definition, as in "extraordinary" and "difficult to believe" because it is a Mint opening piece for a Mint not within a recognized state. The only other Mint opening piece is the Denver piece which is uniface with much less design. The other Mints don't have such medals. From this perspective, I do think the Copper and Silver ones are special as well. Regarding the gold piece specifically, there are few gold So-Called Dollars and even fewer "silver dollar sized" gold So-Called Dollars. There is a small striking with very little known pedigree which makes it fun to track.
Just like incredibility, "aesthetically more pleasing designs" is also subjective and everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Selling for less due to lower demand is not subjective
I like Nicholas Veeder's Eutopia Dollar and have thought of picking one up but I do think the design is much less aesthetically pleasing than the Wilson Dollar. It also appears to be a fantasy piece as I cannot find reference to an actual "Republic of Eutopia" which makes it a bit less interesting to me than pieces associated with real people and events.
I saw the one on eBay which both has the die crack and is in a Details - Cleaned holder. The NGC Census lists over 10 of these with a number of problem free MS specimens. It would be nice to find a straight-graded, gem piece without the die crack, which would be "incredible" to me
Good info. Part of the reason for this thread is to track these pieces so any and all info is welcome. Post more info if you have it.
There is now a PCGS MS62 in the pop report which is designed as different from the NGC MS62 so the known census is up to 6 now. I'm still looking for information on this piece to see if it's different from all the other above specimens.
I doubt a Eutopia Dollar exists without the die crack and I would expect the presentation Gold Wilson Dollars to grade at least MS64 if they still exist.
Since it's unknown if either exists, I think such a rediscovery would be exciting and incredible, for both.
let's agree on something, enough with incredible already, I get it.
I've never heard it suggested that any of the gold pieces were thrown into the water with the silver and copper.
I know the Japenese were coming, but on such a small quantity of gold struck, why would it seem probably that they sank them?
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
Hibler-Kappen only note that aside from the two Presentation pieces any struck in Gold(presumably three, perhaps more) were retained at the Manila Mint and lost during WWII. since there is evidence to verify the assertion that any remaining medals, Copper and Silver, were dumped into the sea in 1942 it seems reasonable to assume any Gold medals still there were also dumped into the sea.
@keets
That doesnt seem reasonable at all. Copper and silver are semi precious metals that are cumbersome to transport in weight justifiable to great wealth. Gold is extremely portable. I truly believe if there were gold examples there at the time of the invasion, they would've grown legs and walked onto the departing ships
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
after the "incredible" debate with Zoins
this morning I'm really not up for another, maybe some other day. I'm only relating what is already in print. 
Manila was not a branch mint of the United States Mint. It was a creation of the Philippine Legislature, its construction and equipment funded by the legislature's appropriations bill of February 8, 1918.
Much of Philippine government in that era was closely intertwined with the U.S. Bureau of Insular Affairs (part of the War Department). "Most heads or secretaries of Philippine government departments were appointed by the U.S. governor general, with the advice and consent of the Philippine Senate. In 1919, the chief of the Bureau of the Insular Treasury (part of the Department of Finance) was Insular Treasurer Albert P. Fitzsimmons, formerly a mayor of Tecumseh, Nebraska, and member of the municipal board of Manila. . . . On May 20, 1919, he was named director ad interim of the Mint of the Philippine Islands, which was then being organized" (Mega Red, 5th edition, "Philippine Issues," pp. 1331-1332).
wow, another argument to avoid!!!
The discussion of whether the Manila Mint was a "branch mint of the US Mint" is actually an interesting question. Many writings claim it is, but I haven't looked into what technically determines if a mint is a "branch mint". For the continental US, the Congressional Acts mention the specific words "branch mint". I haven't found the law creating the Manila Mint yet.
As for the Red Book passage quoted by @Dentuck, is that written by the Red Book authors or from an original source? It would be interesting to find the law authorizing the creation of the mint.
I added the new PCGS MS62 to the Condition Census in the OP. It has some interesting diagnostics including:
Although the older cert for the PCGS AU55 no longer verifies, they are not the same coin as the AU55 has hits on the obverse in front of Wilson's chin and on his jaw. It will be interesting to see the cert number when the slab photos show up.
It also doesn't look like the NGC MS62 as Juno's head / hair is much more fully struck.
Well... it seems you read that silver and copper were dumped into the sea. Gold being dumped into the sea seems like it was speculation
Still a good discussion.
We may be up to 7 specimens now as I just ran across a specimen NGC MS60 specimen published by NGC on March 12, 2019. This has been added to the OP.
Very interesting. the PCGS AU55 is now, having gone having had 3 cert numbers since 2013.
The coin's PCGS photo has also been downgraded from TrueView last year to SecurePlus this year. This is interesting has I haven't seen a SecurePlus photo in a while.
Here are the two photos - now also in the OP. It's also interesting that while many marks are the same in both photos the marks closest to the chin on the TrueView don't seem to appear on the SecurePlus image.
Seen last year - https://www.pcgs.com/cert/83784389 (no longer validates)
Seen now - https://www.pcgs.com/cert/37231894
different lighting but easily distinguished as the same medal. I would like to see it in-hand to know which is the true view.
Great information here, @Zoins! I was in the process of doing a Stack's Bowers blog post for this type, and trying to connect the dots between the various specimens and their appearances across the auction spectrum. The PCGS MS-62 will be the basis for my post, and will be appearing in the S-B NYINC auction in 2020.
Jeremy Bostwick
For exceptional works of medallic art, check out our current inventory at Numismagram!
Glad to hear it! I love these pieces and was inspired to put this together so I’m glad you found it useful. Please post a link to your article when it’s done!
I will do so, @Zoins! It should go out in the next S-B e-blast this Friday, and I'll post a link to it here.
Jeremy Bostwick
For exceptional works of medallic art, check out our current inventory at Numismagram!
“There are a few known specimens:
PCGS MS62 - PCGS 37613840
NGC MS62 - NGC 1784584-004 - Heritage 7/2008 lot 2151, Heritage 5/2008 lot 23156, Heritage 4/2008 lot 2531, Stack's 12/1996 lot 2927.
NGC MS61 - Stack's 1/2008 lot 7298 - Identified by a mark on Juno's shoulder.
NGC MS60 - NGC March 12, 2019 article
PCGS AU55 - PCGS 24592857 - Heritage 1/2013 lot 22446 (no longer verifies)
ANACS Unc Details - Cleaned - Net MS 60 - ANACS 1040348 - MonsterCoinMart 2018, Stack's 3/2015.
NGC Unc Details - Mount Removed - NGC 5206198-001 - Heritage 2/2008 lot 81185.”
I believe the NGC-62 example is now in a PCGS 62 holder. So, if that PCGS 62 listed here is not the NGC coin, then the population at PCGS in MS62 is now 2/0.
Wondercoin.
PCGS pop report indicates 1 in MS62 and 1 in AU55:
Also, the NGC MS62 cert still verifies:
Zoins. I suspect PCGS created a second coin number perhaps intentionally or unintentionally. Which explains why pop shows just 1. The tag was never returned to NGC.
Wondercoin
Hopefully some info can surface on that. It would be strange for them to intentionally create a 2nd coin number. Have they done that before?
I added some info to the first post indicated that PCGS 37613840 MS62:
Interesting that NGC now indicates there are 2 graded specimens in MS61 along with AU58 specimen. Both the 2nd MS62 and the AU58 need to be tracked.
https://www.ngccoin.com/census/united-states/tokens-and-medals/86/?c=851435
https://www.ngccoin.com/certlookup/2190217-001/61/
@Zoins Excellent write-up!
Zoins... I got the serial number on the other PCGS-MS62 specimen. Serial # 24247934. As you see, PCGS assigned to it a different coin number. So, the coin is actually pop 2/0 right now in MS62... but currently is showing pop 1/0 under 2 different coin numbers.
Happy to assist in getting the information more accurate on this rare collectible.
Wondercoin