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Springfield So-Called Dollars - Pynchon House Revisited - HK-608 HK-609

ZoinsZoins Posts: 33,863 ✭✭✭✭✭
edited January 20, 2020 12:10AM in U.S. Coin Forum

I recently picked up a pair of Springfield 250th Anniversary So-Called Dollars, HK-608 and HK-609. I've been interested in anything depicting the Pynchon House ever since picking up Bolen's Pynchon House dies and learning he lived in Springfield.

The HK-608 is raw with only 7 graded by NGC and none by PCGS. The HK-609 is the only one graded by PCGS though NGC has slabbed between 10-20 of these. The white metal piece often comes holed but I've never seen the bronze piece holed. I also haven't seen the white metal piece still attached to its hanger yet.

In my research, I also learned these were created by William H Warner & Bro. in the Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Volume 76. D. Wayne Johnson's MedalBlog says the following:

WARNER, William H. (fl 1868-1899) engraver, medalist, Philadelphia. William formed a firm, Wm. H. Warner & Brother (1868) with brother Charles K. Warner.

I also learned that Mrs. WIlliam H. Warner was president of the Salamagundi, which dedicated itself to history, book reviews and higher literary studies".

1886 Springfield 250th Anniversary HK-608 Bronze

I was happy to pick this up raw as slabbed prices have been going up.

1886 Springfield 250th Anniversary HK-609 White Metal

In hand, this looks much more gray and less yellow. It's also quite reflective and prooflike. A number of these have the small black flecks on the planchet. On this piece, these are more on the reverse where I've seen some which have them more on the obverse.

The Seal of Springfield - Obverse of the medal

Here's a bit of information on the obverse seal from Wikipedia:

Whereas the city ordinance describes a seal produced by engraver Richard Paine, the rendition from which the modern depiction is derived from was carved by engraver Thomas Chubbuck. The seal contains a number of scenes of Springfield's historic buildings. In its crest is a picture of the Springfield Armory's arsenal building with the American flag, the only recognizable landmark of the seal extant today. Below this crest sits a shield with an embellished trim and an arrow running through it from east to west. From the top, clockwise, the first scene shows a train leaving the city's first Union Station, crossing the former North End Bridge over the Connecticut River; the house on the lower right is the "Old Fort", the residence of John Pychon, built on the homestead of his father William Pynchon. Erected in 1660, it was the first brick building in the settlement, and served as a safehouse during the siege on Springfield during King Philip's War, and remained on the corner of what is now Fort Street, presently the Student Prince/Fort Restaurant, until 1831 when it was razed for new construction.[4][5] The scene on the lower left shows three smaller buildings and two steamboats on river; prior to the construction of Interstate 91, the Connecticut River played a more significant role in the livelihood of the city.[6]

History of Springfield

Here's a bit of information on Springfield from Wikipedia:

Springfield was founded in 1636 by English Puritan William Pynchon as "Agawam Plantation" under the administration of the Connecticut Colony. In 1641 it was renamed after Pynchon's hometown of Springfield, Essex, England, following incidents, including trade disputes as well as Captain John Mason's hostilities toward native tribes, that precipitated the settlement joining the Massachusetts Bay Colony.[20][21] During its early existence, Springfield flourished both as an agricultural settlement and as a trading post, although its prosperity waned dramatically during (and after) King Philip's War in 1675, when natives laid siege to it and burned it to the ground as part of the ongoing campaign. During that attack, three-quarters of the original settlement was burned to the ground, with many of Springfield's residents survived by taking refuge in John Pynchon's brick house, the "Old Fort", the first such house to be built in the Connecticut River Valley. Out of the siege, Miles Morgan and his sons were lauded as heroes; as one of the few homesteads to survive the attack, alerting troops in Hadley, as well as Toto, often referred to as the "Windsor Indian" who, running 20 miles from Windsor, Connecticut to the settlement, was able to give advance warning of the attack.[22]

Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Volume 76

Private Mint News | 2010 Lincoln Reverse Finalists
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