Heat Check Coming For So-Called Dollars

tokenpro · August 13, 2022 5:06PM

The Certified Token & Medal Showcase Auction coming up Monday at Heritage includes a very large number of So-Calleds from one of the better known collectors of the series. This should prove to be a good test of where the higher end of the SCD market is as there is enough quantity, quality & scarcity being offered to give a pretty good snapshot of the market. There seems to be a bit of leveling and resistance recently so I'm interested to see the results. It's unfortunate that it is scheduled opposite the first night of the ANA but the net is always open.

Zoins · August 16, 2022 8:28AM

I had my fingers crossed but I had a suspicion that the market is super hot and that was confirmed when I was blown out of the water! The very rare pieces sold for very strong prices.

Goldminers · August 16, 2022 10:34AM

Yes, there were a lot of high bids with major increases during the live auction above the internet prices.

Pioneer1 · August 16, 2022 12:01PM

The prices were high; I was outbid left and right; I won a number of lots, but not that $28K silver piece. Goodness.

https://coins.ha.com/itm/so-called-dollars/tokens-and-medals/1861-bombardment-of-fort-sumter-silver-so-called-dollar-hk-11f-unique-ms64-prooflike-ngc-an-early-popular-and-rare-c/a/60273-91098.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515

rooksmith · August 16, 2022 12:25PM

Not all dollars are so-called dollars

dcarr · August 16, 2022 1:41PM

Since I have a collection of "encased" coins (focusing on anything that is not a small cent), I had to bid on this one.
I won, but it was pretty costly as encased coins go (but this is the only example of an encased early commemorative half dollar that I know of):
https://coins.ha.com/itm/a/60273-91571.s

Goldminers · August 16, 2022 2:00PM

@dcarr said:
Since I have a collection of "encased" coins (focusing on anything that is not a small cent), I had to bid on this one.
I won, but it was pretty costly as encased coins go (but this is the only example of an encased early commemorative half dollar that I know of):
https://coins.ha.com/itm/a/60273-91571.s

I was surprised at the high 100,000 mintage of the 1918 coin itself, so found this in Wiki:

A total of 100,058 Illinois Centennial half dollars were struck at the Philadelphia Mint during August 1918, with the excess over the round number reserved for inspection and testing at the 1919 meeting of the annual Assay Commission. There was no official packaging; a few were used in badges for the Illinois Centennial Commission. The coins were not publicized much outside Illinois. The centennial commission distributed them, at face value, to its county affiliates in proportion to their share of Illinois' population, on condition they be sold at a premium to help pay for local celebrations, and if one had already been held, for war relief.

The coins were also sold by the Springfield Chamber of Commerce at $1 each, though some were eventually vended for less: Texas coin dealer B. Max Mehl purchased several thousand at just over face value. A local bank held 30,000 of them for 15 years, and sold them during the 1933 Bank Holiday for a slight advance on par. This temporarily flooded the market, but they were absorbed during the first commemorative coin boom in 1936, though the price did not then rise from the $1.25 they had sold for since about 1925. At the height of the second commemorative coin boom in 1980, uncirculated specimens sold for about $300.

I think the encased version must have been one of the few used for badges for the Centennial Commission. Nice find. Always like something new to research.

Goldminers · August 16, 2022 2:09PM

I picked up a couple more top pops for my National Commemorative Medal set.

Most of these NCM medals are considered too new for SCD classification, but all are absolutely official US Mint products only distributed locally, ... but I question my sanity on what it took to actually win one of them.

dcarr · August 16, 2022 2:20PM

@Goldminers said:

@dcarr said:
Since I have a collection of "encased" coins (focusing on anything that is not a small cent), I had to bid on this one.
I won, but it was pretty costly as encased coins go (but this is the only example of an encased early commemorative half dollar that I know of):
https://coins.ha.com/itm/a/60273-91571.s

I was surprised at the high 100,000 mintage of the 1918 coin itself, so found this in Wiki:

A total of 100,058 Illinois Centennial half dollars were struck at the Philadelphia Mint during August 1918, with the excess over the round number reserved for inspection and testing at the 1919 meeting of the annual Assay Commission. There was no official packaging; a few were used in badges for the Illinois Centennial Commission. The coins were not publicized much outside Illinois. The centennial commission distributed them, at face value, to its county affiliates in proportion to their share of Illinois' population, on condition they be sold at a premium to help pay for local celebrations, and if one had already been held, for war relief.

The coins were also sold by the Springfield Chamber of Commerce at $1 each, though some were eventually vended for less: Texas coin dealer B. Max Mehl purchased several thousand at just over face value. A local bank held 30,000 of them for 15 years, and sold them during the 1933 Bank Holiday for a slight advance on par. This temporarily flooded the market, but they were absorbed during the first commemorative coin boom in 1936, though the price did not then rise from the $1.25 they had sold for since about 1925. At the height of the second commemorative coin boom in 1980, uncirculated specimens sold for about $300.

I think the encased version must have been one of the few used for badges for the Centennial Commission. Nice find. Always like something new to research.

Thanks for the info. After reading your post I would assume that this is one of the Centennial Commission "badge" pieces.

PS:
Are you the owner of the registry set "Modern Commemorative Medals of the US Mint" (1940 to present) ?
That is a very nice set - not easy to assemble ! John Dean (author of the book on those) is a good friend of mine.
I think the only one I have that is not in that set is the gold 1965 Statue of Liberty Ellis Island (D1965-4a in the Dean book).

Goldminers · August 17, 2022 1:59PM

@dcarr said:

@Goldminers said:

@dcarr said:
Since I have a collection of "encased" coins (focusing on anything that is not a small cent), I had to bid on this one.
I won, but it was pretty costly as encased coins go (but this is the only example of an encased early commemorative half dollar that I know of):
https://coins.ha.com/itm/a/60273-91571.s

I was surprised at the high 100,000 mintage of the 1918 coin itself, so found this in Wiki:

A total of 100,058 Illinois Centennial half dollars were struck at the Philadelphia Mint during August 1918, with the excess over the round number reserved for inspection and testing at the 1919 meeting of the annual Assay Commission. There was no official packaging; a few were used in badges for the Illinois Centennial Commission. The coins were not publicized much outside Illinois. The centennial commission distributed them, at face value, to its county affiliates in proportion to their share of Illinois' population, on condition they be sold at a premium to help pay for local celebrations, and if one had already been held, for war relief.

The coins were also sold by the Springfield Chamber of Commerce at $1 each, though some were eventually vended for less: Texas coin dealer B. Max Mehl purchased several thousand at just over face value. A local bank held 30,000 of them for 15 years, and sold them during the 1933 Bank Holiday for a slight advance on par. This temporarily flooded the market, but they were absorbed during the first commemorative coin boom in 1936, though the price did not then rise from the $1.25 they had sold for since about 1925. At the height of the second commemorative coin boom in 1980, uncirculated specimens sold for about $300.

I think the encased version must have been one of the few used for badges for the Centennial Commission. Nice find. Always like something new to research.

Thanks for the info. After reading your post I would assume that this is one of the Centennial Commission "badge" pieces.

PS:
Are you the owner of the registry set "Modern Commemorative Medals of the US Mint" (1940 to present) ?
That is a very nice set - not easy to assemble ! John Dean (author of the book on those) is a good friend of mine.
I think the only one I have that is not in that set is the gold 1965 Statue of Liberty Ellis Island (D1965-4a in the Dean book).

Yes, John is a good friend of mine also.

Heat Check Coming For So-Called Dollars

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