Bryan Dollars.

keets · March 25, 2018 10:57AM

By my count there are perhaps 10 collectible varieties of Bryan So-Called Dollars, almost all of them being R-5 or R-6. I think a realistic estimate might be 1,000+ medals, that's probably high. They are a very popular and widely collected medal with many non-SC$ collectors chasing them.

I have been looking at Heritage listings over the past few weeks and it struck me that Bryan Dollars almost always seem to be available and seem to show up routinely in every major show auction. Why is that?? Are they listed and not sold, bought back by a consignor?? Are they bought/sold over a brief period of time and, hence, moving up in price(I don't see that)?? Are they being bought by collectors who lose interest quickly and flip them?? Is it possible that the rarity ratings are low and there are really a lot of Bryan Dollars that exist??

Al H.

Zoins · March 25, 2018 11:24AM

Here's the list from HK. Are they all commonly available?

https://so-calleddollars.com/Events/Bryan_Dollars.html

HK-777
HK-778
HK-779
HK-780
HK-781
HK-782
HK-783
HK-784
HK-785
HK-786
HK-1010
HK-1011
HK-1012
HK-1012a
HK-1013
HK-1014
HK-1015

DCW · March 25, 2018 12:20PM

I like Bryan Money, and I've found that the "United Snakes" tokens are very collectable with US Coin collectors. I dont think these are considered so called dollars, though.

BlindedByEgo · March 25, 2018 12:42PM

Almost makes me want to own one

keets · March 25, 2018 1:10PM

no.'s 1-10 are readily available as I posted, after that they range from prohibitively rare to unique, but I suppose you already knew that. the actual physical book is a better reference than the online version.

coinsarefun · March 25, 2018 1:11PM

@DCW said:
I like Bryan Money, and I've found that the "United Snakes" tokens are very collectable with US Coin collectors. I dont think these are considered so called dollars, though.

I agree and add mine. Many of them do seem to come up often but not in very nice condition.
.
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1896 Bryan$ Sch-353 Aluminum United Snakes of America

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1896 Bryan$ Sch-845 Aluminum Sixteen To One, We Don't Think
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.

keets · March 25, 2018 1:13PM

as always, every thread gains its own life and direction.

I will only say that I had hoped to discuss Bryan Dollars and not "Bryan Money" which is what's been posted thus far.

Sonorandesertrat · March 25, 2018 1:15PM

There are also other 1896 collectibles, such as the pro-silver flyer below, that have a similar theme.

SCDHunter · March 25, 2018 1:28PM

Here's one for you Keets. Ex Weber:

BillJones · March 25, 2018 2:58PM

I thought that all of the “Bryan Dollars,” that were also listed as so-called dollars, were the silver pieces, which are called, “the comparative Bryan Dollars.” In that case, if they are being touted as rarities, as a group, they are not. The 1896 Gorham pieces are not rare at all. If you want one you can find them at most of the coin shows. The big problem is that a lot of them have been cleaned, dipped or have other problems.

There are some rare ones. The 1900 pieces are much scarcer as a group that then 1896 pieces. Pieces issued by Spaulding & Co. are scarce. The Tiffany & Co. pieces are scarcer still. It really comes down to what you want to collect. If you want one example, you can get an 1896 Gorham piece with no heavy lifting. If you are looking for one of the others, it can take a while, and you might end up going the auction route.

As a postscript, I was not aware that the satirical pieces, that were posted earlier, where in the so-called dollars book.

keets · March 25, 2018 5:48PM

Bill, my main query is why these medals always seem to be available.

BillJones · March 25, 2018 6:06PM

@keets said:
Bill, my main query is why these medals always seem to be available.

I think that they are more common that the rarity ratings previously cited. Of course if collector interest increases, they will become more difficult to obtain. They are much rarer than most any Morgan Dollar, but lower demand makes them look more common.

jonathanb · March 25, 2018 9:45PM

Rarities vary widely. I figure the commonest varieties as R-3 (population 501-2000).
As you say, the common ones are common.
Still popular, though.

keets · March 26, 2018 3:42AM

I figure the commonest varieties as R-3 (population 501-2000).

this answers my last question in the OP but prompts two more --- Is this your assessment after time has passed since the publication of the second edition??? if not, why weren't the rarity listings in that edition more reflective of that??

jonathanb · March 26, 2018 1:04PM

@keets said:
Is this your assessment after time has passed since the publication of the second edition??? if not, why weren't the rarity listings in that edition more reflective of that??

Assessments change over time. We have 10 more years of population figures and auction appearances since the 2nd edition was published. As me again in another 10 years and I'll probably give you a different answer then also.

FWIW, my general approach is like this:

Get all of the population reports and all of the auction appearances for a given series.
Group items that have similar population reports and similar numbers of auction appearances
If the rarity estimates for those items aren't also similar then either there's a problem with the rarity estimates or (less often) something odd that skews the population reports and auction appearances.

The most common cause for "skew" is with very common pieces, where they're so common that nobody wants to bother putting them into auction. Consider for example HK-460. Those "look like" rarer pieces, in terms of numbers of appearances. But since the whole point is that everyone knows they're common, it's easy to explain the numbers.

Bryan Dollars.

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