Lots of So-Called Dollar Newps -- pictures galore
jonathanb
Posts: 3,660 ✭✭✭✭✭
I've been way behind on my photography, so some of these newps are stretching the definition of 'new', but I haven't posted any of these pieces yet. Considering the interest in So-Called Dollars lately, it seems like I ought to get them posted for everyone's pleasure. Enjoy!
This is the Official Medal of the U.S. Centennial Exposition in silver, HK-20. It is also a US Mint Medal cataloged as Julian CM-10a. I mistakenly called this a 'rare' piece and a board member called me on it. It isn't technically rare, given that 10,133 were struck, but it isn't wildly common and it is very popular. From my perspective, and I imagine from the perspective of most of the people on this board, this is a 'damaged' piece -- it has been engraved inside the legend on the obverse FROM DR. J. H. McLEAN / to L. O'R. A google search says, however, that Dr. J. H. McLean was a big name in the late 1800s, selling patent medicines and medical almanacs. So it couldn't be that the Dr. J. H. McLean on this medal isn't a person, but a company. That would be sort of like if you got something from Dr. Scholl's today. If so, might this be a presentation medal of some sort? Beats me; I don't know anything about the patent medicine field. Makes for an interesting question, tho...
The Declaration of Independence dollar, HK-74, isn't particularly rare, but this is a nicer than usual example. This medal was issued for the U.S. Centennial Exposition and is somewhat larger than most So-Called dollars (44 mm).
The condition is awful, but I'm unreasonably pleased about this piece nonetheless. HK-322 was issued for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, and shows the Palace of Agriculture on one side with the Machinery Building on the other. BUT the description for HK-322 also says, "NOTE: Above is only one of Exhibition Palace medals bearing Lauer's name, also it is slightly larger, has more finely beaded borders barely visible; reads Saint Louis as against St. Louis. Most authorities agree, however, that Lauer probably executed entire series.". This piece has the U.S. Government Building on one side and Eads Bridge on the other, but clearly is part of the same series, even to the point of including Lauer's name. NGC's pops include a new HK-322a described as MANUFACTURERS/LIBERAL ART, and a new HK-322b described as VARIED INDUSTRY/ELECTRIC, so it sounds like there's a whole series here. Call this one HK-322c, maybe?
I bought this first piece as HK-469, the Hall of Science dollar, and it took me a while to register that it isn't that. On HK-469, the text under the building says A CENTURY OF / PROGRESS / CHICAGO 1933. This one reads WORLDS FAIR / 1933 - CHICAGO - 1934. Call it HK-469a? This is the sort of thing where I expect I'll find a zillion of them now that I know to look, but this is the first one I've noticed so far.
For comparison, this second piece really is HK-469, and is a good example of how nice this particular medal (and also the similar HK-474) can come. Anyone looking to get a copy for their collection should plan on holding out for a nice copy, since they're available and not usually any more expensive than the crappy ones. NGC grades these pieces as "PL".
HK-495 is one of the commoner So-Called Dollars, but this one is in uncommon condition. The gilt on these is apparently rather thin, and tends to wear through very quickly. There's a little scuffiness on the cheek, but NGC apparently doesn't count that as 'wear' since I've seen a bunch of gilt medals slabed as 62/63/64 even with significant breaks in the gilding. If someone can explain how the gilt can be worn through on an uncirculated item (without invoking 'market grading, please!), I'd love to hear. This medal was released at the International Monetary Conference in 1946.
The East Tincup dollar for the Pony Express Centennial is one of the most common So-Called Dollars, but this example is in superlative condition. The actual piece is even better than the picture -- the white specs are just specs, and I was afraid to try to blow them off for risk spitting on the piece. The specs are there because I popped this piece out of a commemorative cardboard display board that I got it in, along with the original paperwork for ordering the board back in the 1970s.
This is the second of three East Tincup dollars listed by HK, this one as HK-718. It came in the a board similar to HK-585 above, but it has some serious problems with fingerprints. Too bad for this one, and makes me feel even luckier that the HK-585 is so nice.
I bought this one in a batch of exposition medals and it took me way too long to get from 'that looks familiar' to 'Aha!'. This is the design of HK-725, but that So-Called Dollar is only listed in bronze. This one is silver. NGC does list a 'HK-725a' in their population report, but their report doesn't identify what they mean by their newly-assigned numbers. So I'm going to pretend that this one is HK-725a, at least until I hear otherwise. I wish the condition was a little better, but it's hard to complain about an unlisted silver version in any condition. This medal was released for the Louisiana Mechanics & Agricultural Fair Association and is undated.
The first of these two pieces is HK-734, the Anaconda Mine dollar, Type I. The second one isnt listed but clearly matches the first even though it depicts the Parrot Mine. There already is a listing for HK-734a in the original HK book (Anaconda Mine, Type II), so maybe the Parrot Mine piece should be HK-734b? Both of these pieces have fabulous reflective surfaces that are marred by zillions of bag marks and some strange alloy streaks. Unblemished examples of these pieces must really be something.
The first of these two pieces is HK-897, a World War I Peace Medal. The condition is better than average, but nothing spectacular. The second one isn't listed as a So-Called Dollar, and it shouldn't be because Hibler-Kappen excluded political medals. But I think it's neat as an item that's clearly related to the listed one.
HK-908 and HK-909 are medals for the Ku Klux Klan. It's tough to find them on eBay, since they're technically not supposed to be listed and eBay will remove the listings if they notice (there was an example of HK-909 listed earlier this week, but it's gone now). The prices are also across the board, since KKK medals are very collectable in their own right, even among people who know nothing about So-Called Dollars. On the other hand, the legends on the medal are absolutely (and intentionally) cryptic, so it's also possible to get them really cheaply from people who don't realize what they have. I paid about $10 for this one. For the record: yes, I find the KKK reprehensible along with everything they stand for. But at the same time it appeals to my sense of justice if I can make money from them.
This piece isn't quite HK-908 since the version pictured in Hibler-Kappen doesn't have the EWJS text running vertically next to the scroll. I don't know if this should be HK-908a or simply a variant on HK-908. This is clearly heavily worn, which appears to be the rule for this medal. I think they were intended as pocket pieces
HK-916 is one of the So-Called Dollar that was listed as most common of all of the ones listed in the 1960 publication. Still, I hadn't seen any examples in the last year until this one (and of course now that I saw one, a second one sold last week also). The condition is lousy again because these were also intended to be used as pocket pieces. I'm particularly pleased with this one because it came with the original papers that it was sold with.
This is the Official Medal of the U.S. Centennial Exposition in silver, HK-20. It is also a US Mint Medal cataloged as Julian CM-10a. I mistakenly called this a 'rare' piece and a board member called me on it. It isn't technically rare, given that 10,133 were struck, but it isn't wildly common and it is very popular. From my perspective, and I imagine from the perspective of most of the people on this board, this is a 'damaged' piece -- it has been engraved inside the legend on the obverse FROM DR. J. H. McLEAN / to L. O'R. A google search says, however, that Dr. J. H. McLean was a big name in the late 1800s, selling patent medicines and medical almanacs. So it couldn't be that the Dr. J. H. McLean on this medal isn't a person, but a company. That would be sort of like if you got something from Dr. Scholl's today. If so, might this be a presentation medal of some sort? Beats me; I don't know anything about the patent medicine field. Makes for an interesting question, tho...
The Declaration of Independence dollar, HK-74, isn't particularly rare, but this is a nicer than usual example. This medal was issued for the U.S. Centennial Exposition and is somewhat larger than most So-Called dollars (44 mm).
The condition is awful, but I'm unreasonably pleased about this piece nonetheless. HK-322 was issued for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, and shows the Palace of Agriculture on one side with the Machinery Building on the other. BUT the description for HK-322 also says, "NOTE: Above is only one of Exhibition Palace medals bearing Lauer's name, also it is slightly larger, has more finely beaded borders barely visible; reads Saint Louis as against St. Louis. Most authorities agree, however, that Lauer probably executed entire series.". This piece has the U.S. Government Building on one side and Eads Bridge on the other, but clearly is part of the same series, even to the point of including Lauer's name. NGC's pops include a new HK-322a described as MANUFACTURERS/LIBERAL ART, and a new HK-322b described as VARIED INDUSTRY/ELECTRIC, so it sounds like there's a whole series here. Call this one HK-322c, maybe?
I bought this first piece as HK-469, the Hall of Science dollar, and it took me a while to register that it isn't that. On HK-469, the text under the building says A CENTURY OF / PROGRESS / CHICAGO 1933. This one reads WORLDS FAIR / 1933 - CHICAGO - 1934. Call it HK-469a? This is the sort of thing where I expect I'll find a zillion of them now that I know to look, but this is the first one I've noticed so far.
For comparison, this second piece really is HK-469, and is a good example of how nice this particular medal (and also the similar HK-474) can come. Anyone looking to get a copy for their collection should plan on holding out for a nice copy, since they're available and not usually any more expensive than the crappy ones. NGC grades these pieces as "PL".
HK-495 is one of the commoner So-Called Dollars, but this one is in uncommon condition. The gilt on these is apparently rather thin, and tends to wear through very quickly. There's a little scuffiness on the cheek, but NGC apparently doesn't count that as 'wear' since I've seen a bunch of gilt medals slabed as 62/63/64 even with significant breaks in the gilding. If someone can explain how the gilt can be worn through on an uncirculated item (without invoking 'market grading, please!), I'd love to hear. This medal was released at the International Monetary Conference in 1946.
The East Tincup dollar for the Pony Express Centennial is one of the most common So-Called Dollars, but this example is in superlative condition. The actual piece is even better than the picture -- the white specs are just specs, and I was afraid to try to blow them off for risk spitting on the piece. The specs are there because I popped this piece out of a commemorative cardboard display board that I got it in, along with the original paperwork for ordering the board back in the 1970s.
This is the second of three East Tincup dollars listed by HK, this one as HK-718. It came in the a board similar to HK-585 above, but it has some serious problems with fingerprints. Too bad for this one, and makes me feel even luckier that the HK-585 is so nice.
I bought this one in a batch of exposition medals and it took me way too long to get from 'that looks familiar' to 'Aha!'. This is the design of HK-725, but that So-Called Dollar is only listed in bronze. This one is silver. NGC does list a 'HK-725a' in their population report, but their report doesn't identify what they mean by their newly-assigned numbers. So I'm going to pretend that this one is HK-725a, at least until I hear otherwise. I wish the condition was a little better, but it's hard to complain about an unlisted silver version in any condition. This medal was released for the Louisiana Mechanics & Agricultural Fair Association and is undated.
The first of these two pieces is HK-734, the Anaconda Mine dollar, Type I. The second one isnt listed but clearly matches the first even though it depicts the Parrot Mine. There already is a listing for HK-734a in the original HK book (Anaconda Mine, Type II), so maybe the Parrot Mine piece should be HK-734b? Both of these pieces have fabulous reflective surfaces that are marred by zillions of bag marks and some strange alloy streaks. Unblemished examples of these pieces must really be something.
The first of these two pieces is HK-897, a World War I Peace Medal. The condition is better than average, but nothing spectacular. The second one isn't listed as a So-Called Dollar, and it shouldn't be because Hibler-Kappen excluded political medals. But I think it's neat as an item that's clearly related to the listed one.
HK-908 and HK-909 are medals for the Ku Klux Klan. It's tough to find them on eBay, since they're technically not supposed to be listed and eBay will remove the listings if they notice (there was an example of HK-909 listed earlier this week, but it's gone now). The prices are also across the board, since KKK medals are very collectable in their own right, even among people who know nothing about So-Called Dollars. On the other hand, the legends on the medal are absolutely (and intentionally) cryptic, so it's also possible to get them really cheaply from people who don't realize what they have. I paid about $10 for this one. For the record: yes, I find the KKK reprehensible along with everything they stand for. But at the same time it appeals to my sense of justice if I can make money from them.
This piece isn't quite HK-908 since the version pictured in Hibler-Kappen doesn't have the EWJS text running vertically next to the scroll. I don't know if this should be HK-908a or simply a variant on HK-908. This is clearly heavily worn, which appears to be the rule for this medal. I think they were intended as pocket piecesHK-916 is one of the So-Called Dollar that was listed as most common of all of the ones listed in the 1960 publication. Still, I hadn't seen any examples in the last year until this one (and of course now that I saw one, a second one sold last week also). The condition is lousy again because these were also intended to be used as pocket pieces. I'm particularly pleased with this one because it came with the original papers that it was sold with.
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Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for everyone's kind words (already!). I'd always be interested in any other information that anyone had on these pieces...
jonathan
- Marcus Tullius Cicero, 106-43 BC
I really like the HK-20
Go BIG or GO HOME. ©Bill
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since 8/1/6
An authorized PCGS dealer, and a contributor to the Red Book.
<< <i>Great finds! My favorite is the Official Medal of the U.S. Centennial Exposition in silver, HK-20. I just sold a similar one at the Baltimore show in a group of 1876 Centennial medals (that sold very quickly!) Thanks for sharing these.
In original Holder .
- Marcus Tullius Cicero, 106-43 BC
An authorized PCGS dealer, and a contributor to the Red Book.
Camelot
Wonderful piece!
I'll say that it's quite possible for a recently issued piece to be readily available and then to have available specimens drop precipitously over time.
Here's one that recently came up on the bay.
Here's a December 7, 1951 article with Fred A. Barnhill. He's mentioned in the top article of the 4th column.
https://ndnp.library.arizona.edu/text/batch_az_campfiregoneout/sn84021917/00414216833/1951120701/0703.pdf