Wells Fargo Medal?

Veep

Is anyone familiar with a Wells Fargo & Co. Medal (perhaps a So-Called Dollar) from 1902? I saw one at a show today that I liked but knew nothing about. Its a silver dollar-sized medal, made of silver and attributed as an HK-296. I was told that the HK number is a desgination given by the authors of an old volume on So-Called dollars.

Can anyone tell me about it and what the approximate value of an uncirculated specimen might be? I didn't find any on Heritage's Auction Archives.

Thanks!

Veep

ttt

njcoincrank

Great medal...Was it in the original box of issue?

Without the box and slightly circulated it is worth $200+.

Higher quality with the box it is worth upwards of $400.

Nice find.

njcc

Veep

No box. It was certified MS62 by NGC. I wanted to buy it but didn't want to be a chump and pay what was being asked without doing some research. From what you've told me, I would have been a B-I-G chump.

Veep

For the morning crowd.

Shamika

Anyone have images to share?

Veep

I'm trying to buy one from another source now. If I get it, I'll post it.

jamesfsm

A true MS is VERY rare. Even in MS62, expect to pay $600 or more. $400 is for a raw one that may or may not have been cleaned. Most of these were not well maintained.

jmcu12

Here are pics of one of mine.

There is also one that was on auction from Superior Galleries.

Link

jamesfsm

I forgot to add- rim damage is very common on this issue and some rims have been repaired. Getting one of these to slab is a chore.

jmcu12

I saw an NGC MS63 selling for 500+ but it was sitting for a while; that person also tried to sell on Ebay with no luck. I would think, for a problem free one, I would be willing to go about $350+.

The link that I provided earlier was for a beautiful toned specimen, I think that price was too high, but that's JMO.

Note:

There were about 5000 made, one was given to each Wells Fargo employee who had at least 1 year of service. Be careful of counterfeits. Buying certified will help in this matter. There are ones being sold on Ebay that are very thin and have 'coin silver' on the edge; these are fakes. The detail is horrible and look as though they have been through hell. The real ones, even when used as a pocket piece, are often still very detailed and are fairly thick. The diameter of a real one is about the same as a SAE.

Hope this helps. I am doing more research on this so I may have more information at another time.

Coin Finder

I think these have gone up in price. With the original box also, it looks like a bronze piece though.

link