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A So-Called Dollar question.
keets
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What do you suppose are the Top 10 SC$'s sought and collected by mainstream Coin Collectors who don't otherwise collect these interesting medals?? It is OK to mention your choices by Type and not necessarily individual "HK" numbers.
Some of my choices in no particular order:
Erie Canal Completion.
Lesher Referendum Dollars.
Bryan Dollars.
Lovett's "Eight Battles" Dollars.
Liberty Head Dollars.
Pedlay-Ryan Dollars.
Alaska Souvenir Gold.
Manila Mint Opening.
Wells Fargo SemiCentennial.
Pacific Railway Completion.
Please add anything you might consider the ones most sought by mainstream collectors.
Al H.
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I'd guess the Loozieanna purchase ones would be there.
As a distinct, cohesive category I would add U.S. Mint struck HK -- especially the medals struck on site at the Mint Exhibit on the various expo grounds.
My top two favorite So-called Dollars are HK-1000, Erie Canal Medal in Silver, and Lesher Dollars.
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I would think that collectors would add ones from the various World Expositions where we also had a commemorative coin(s) struck such as the 1893 Wolds Columbian Expo would be well collected and the 1915 Pnama-Pacific International Exposition. Both have good followings and the coins are popular as commemoratives. The SCD's for both expos include some beautiful designs!
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Hk-222 Liberty Head is pretty popular
I like the idea of your post. However, I don't consider most of the SC$ you posted to be collected by the average "joe." I've been collecting these for a very long time and due to the price increases I only add one when I find a rare condition or great price. I've never owned any on your list. I think the token such as the one posted by topstuff is more in line with the average collector and not be in the stock of the average small dealer.
With the American Legion coins from the mint earlier this year I got some very nice ones from local/national American Legion Posts.
The one that would NOT make the list.
HK-623
I would not have delved seriously in to SCD’s in the absence of the iconic issues of historical relevance to New York. Any or all of the Crystal Palace medals; HK6, HK7, HK8.or the 1917 Catskills Aqueduct Completion medal, HK 667. Also the Pacific Railway Completion medal, HK 12. In general, any medals symbolic of historic achievements in development of American infrastructure.
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I agree with this. I think the average coin collector is more likely to have So-Called Dollars from expositions they are already familiar with via coins. My first So-Called Dollar was from the Panama-Pacific International Expo. I remember @RYK posting that he had a Louisiana Purchase Expo dollar.
certainly all medals are collected by someone and it's only logical that a St. Louis resident would buy something from that city., I had hoped for feedback on which medals were the Top 10.
I remember, years ago, I listed a silver one with a silver mine depicted on it. I put it up with a buy-it-now that was evidently way too low. It sold in about a minute and a half and the buyer rubbed my nose in it.
I don't remember the mine, or the state, but I think it was a good one......I don't know about top ten however.....
there are quite a few with mining scenes, maybe it was a Nevada Dollar.
That would make a good poll but too many to list. Then rarity and price would be a large factor and several on your original list would be included without a doubt.
here's my perspective --- some of the medals on my list aren't really that rare, some of them don't have very appealing designs from an aesthetic perspective and some encompass both of those things. it is the added pressure of mainstream collectors that make them expensive and hard to buy.
others, the Lesher Referendum issues, are prohibitively rare to the point of almost uncollectible, and the added pressure makes them extremely hard to buy.
those are the sorts I'm thinking about. I believe the Louisiana HK-299/304 are bought by a lot of mainstream collectors, but there are so many of them that the extra pressure isn't felt. the challenge with those is to wait for one you like.
Yup, that was it !
The Lesher is definitely a top 10. However, I'll bet the LPE SC$ would beat it in an overall popularity contest among the average collector. Nevertheless, it could never be a candidate for the top 10 list.
My top 10 would have everything. Rarity would be at the top of the list - 20 or less. Then age, subject, and desirability (how many folks wish they had an example).
I would add SCDs related to "first struck" at mints:
HK-1003 (San Francisco Mint Coining Press)
HK-876 (Denver Mint Opening);
..and perhaps Morgan & Orr medals for the Philadelphia Mint (Miller-PA-369A)
Dan Carr also made some of these types of items when his press got up and running....