So-Called Dollar newp good news/bad news - not for the faint of heart

jonathanb

The Uniface Dollar for the California Statehood Centennial (HK-505) is listed as one of the scarcest known So-Called Dollars -- "Only 10 to 12 made". It wasn't even on my list of things to watch for here on the East Coast, so I was pretty surprised to find one.

The dealer, who is no idiot, had it displayed in his case with the design side facing upwards. That side looks great. The reverse side has to make your skin crawl, tho. Someone, for some reason, thought that this piece might be solid gold, despite it being way too light to even think about that. So, to test it out, they put a series of humongous gouges right across the center of the field. Ugh. Why do people do stuff like that?



So that's the good news and the bad news. Fortunately, there is one more piece of good news, even if it doesn't quite mitigate the gouges. This medal came with its original case. Tattered, yes, but if there were only 10-12 made, how many cases could still exist?

MrSpud

Very nice!!! Since it is uniface, the marks on the reverse don't take away too much from the medal in my opinion.

STONE

Nice find and looks like a great rarity. Too bad about those scrathes though.

Nice coin all in all!!!

Leiana

I love that design!

It is too bad about the scratches, but that side is not meant to be a focal point so I could live with it.

The original case is awesome, too!

-Amanda

Barndog

I'd snatch up an R-7 half dime with gouges on both sides -- any day of the week. Congratulations on such a nice SCD find!

LickThoseStamps

Awesome find!

lasvegasteddy

NICE PIECE...VERY NICE

291fifth

The scratches were probably caused by a previous owner who was considering selling it for its hoped for gold content.
The battered case probably tells you something about that previous owner.

tmot99

That is VERY cool! Congrats!

HighRelief

Originality is what it is all about, nice score jonathanb

Bear

I get gouged every day

in the market place. No big deal.

RichieURich

Great find! Congrats, jonathanb!

cadmanco

Great Find! I love the original cases.... First one of these I have ever seen.. It has to be very rare...
As far as the HK-505 goes... The Obverse "IS" beautiful and the Reverse...what a shame.... but I feel the HK book
is a ways off on this piece, as they are on many. I have records of many more sales than 10-12, and they are not the same
pieces... It is a tough piece to locate at any rate....

I would have jumped on it for the case alone.....
Again Congrats on the super find...

JJM

WOW !!!!!!!

jonathanb

FWIW, I agree with cadmanco about the rarity. I've also seen sales for a bunch of these. A nice one sold on eBay a few months ago for $510. NGC lists 6 in their pop report already, plus an HK-505A whatever that is. I bought it knowing what I was getting into, and I paid a price that I was comfortable with. And yes, the case is neat. I especially like the octagonal-shaped hole, which must have been a custom job.

I have an essay on different types of rarity that I really ought to write one of these days. This is an example of "nowhere near as rare as the books say, but still commands a significant premium in the marketplace"

jonathan

coindeuce

Nice find Jonathan. I have two questions though: How did you verify that the case is of original issue? Is there some documentation or literature that specifically identifies the case as having been issued with the SCD?

jonathanb

OK, I don't technically know that the case is an "original issue". I've seen some situations where the case obviously isn't original because the coin/metal/whatever doesn't match the fitted hole inside the case. For this one, the octagonal medal fits the octagonal hole nicely. Additionally, this is a little unusual in that I can't think of another good reason for someone to have a case with an octagonal hole.

There isn't any writing on the inside of the case. If there was anything on the outside, it went away when the cover disintegrated.

So bottom line: I can't prove that the case is truly original, but that's what I choose to believe for now.

jonathan

keets

NGC lists 6 in their pop report already, plus an HK-505A whatever that is.

well, i'm not sure i can tell you what it is but i can show you, since i own the HK-505A. i can't see any difference in the pieces we've pictured, perhaps BS at NCS/NGC could tell us, or it could just be a not-so-uncommon NGC faux pas. i have a couple other medals that are attributed wrong, the really important thing is that i know what they are!! as far as the actual rarity of this issue, the seller of the linked eBay auction told me he had more of them than what Hibler-Kappen listed as existing, a point which rubbed me the wrong way when i read the listing from the auction. while he technically never says the medal only has "10-12 examples known" that seems to be the edge he uses to hype the auction while he knows better, treading the ethical highwire in my mind.

the HK-505A has nice gem surfaces, the obverse appearing PL with slight areas of discoloration on the reverse where the plating was thin and the underlying bronze tarnished slightly. all that aside, the surfaces are essentially mark free and graded as MS63. even at less than 50 struck which seems reasonable to expect, this is a difficult medal to locate. i was amazed to find how thin it actually is and have yet to find an example of either of the intended two-sided strikings, HK-503 and HK-504.

cadmanco

I have one of the 505's in the Pop Report (@MS64 - Top Pop)...I have owned a couple others... I also have one of the 504's, but do not have it slabbed at this time. I also have record of a 504 selling on eBay in May of 2006 for $333.81. There are some of the 504's around, but I find them much more difficult to locate than the 505's. I have not seen a 503.. there was a 503A?? slabbed by NGC that sold in July 2006 on eBay. It's Certification number is 1944417-001.... It shows there as "(1940'S) BRASS DAYS OF '49 SLUG " @ MS-62.

I do believe Jonathanb's case is original.. I agree that it would have no other reason, being octaganal shaped...other than to house that medal...
That in itself is a great find...

dealmakr

Hi Keets,

If the piece is the same as the 505, you should send it back down for correct attribution, looks the same to me and maybe will prevent additional confusion.

regards,

dave

BillJones

<< <i>Why do people do stuff like that? >>



It's a quick, dumb way to find out if the piece is solid gold. And if it had been solid gold, chances are it would have been melted, you would not own it today.