A couple of new so called dollars!

[Wihlborg]

I picked up two more so called dollars up at the Parsippany show today, and thought I’d show them for whoever may be interested. Both are in NGC holders.

 

The first is a 1901 New York Panama Pacific Expo so called dollar HK#289. It is graded MS-66 and is a very nice example of this medal.

 

 

The second is a 1926 Philadelphia U.S. Sesquicentennial Expo so called dollar HK#454. This medal is graded MS-65. It has been struck in silver and from what I’ve been told it is quite scarce in silver.

 

The color and luster of both medals is much nicer in hand than depicted in my scans.

 

Personally, I think so called dollars are really cool. Like the early silver commems that I also collect, the history behind the so called dollars is fascinating, and the mintages are very low. That’s a winning combination in my book!

 

John

[DonHeath]

I really like the design of the Pan-Pac obverse. Looks like a real keeper. Very nice.

[TomB]

Those are so cool, John!

 

A really interesting thing, to me at least, is that I have the top medal in silver, it is HK-287 and it has terrific peripheral toning, while I have the lower medal in copper.

[Wihlborg]

Tom,

 

That’s funny. From what I have heard, both medals are rarer in silver than their copper or bronze counterparts, so it seems you have the rarer top medal, while I have the rarer bottom medal!

 

What do you think your medals would grade? I’m just curious. They are supposed to be scarce in general, and get rarer as they move up the mint state ladder. I wish NGC had a pop report for these things!

 

John

[Wihlborg]

Hi Don,

 

Yeah, the design of the Pan-Pac obverse is nice. There is also a 1915 California Pan-Pac Expo so called dollar that has a great design on both the obverse and reverse. I’ve been trying to find one in MS-65 or better with nice color for a while now.

 

John

[Hoot]

Excellent John! I just love SC dollars. Those two are extremely nice.

 

I picked up an SC dollar from the Dallas Heritage auction. It's a Grover Cleveland SC$ from the 1892 World's Columbia Expo. Don't know the HK reference, as I don't have the book. It's made of aluminum and is PL with cameo devices. It's headed to NGC sometime soon - Probably an MS63.

 

Hoot

[jom]

Three dancin' bananas for you JW.

 

 

jom

[kryptonitecomics]

Man that 1st one is one hell of a coin...medal....what ever you want to call it.

 

What type of money are we generally talking about with these So Called dollars in MS condition? I would assume a large price spread between the different varieties, but in general are we talking $100 and up, $500 and up?

[dealmakr-migration]

Hi John,

 

The HK#454 is actually composed of nickel. There were 4 pieces from the US Sesqui. Expo with that strike as listed here;

 

#451 Copper (very rare)

#452 Bronze (scarce)

#453 Brass (scarce)

#454 Nickel (very scarce)

 

HK listed their factors for rarity as follows;

 

Extremely Rare 5-20 pieces known

Very Rare 21-50 "

Rare 51-250

Very Scarce 251-500

Scarce 501-1500

not rated over 1500

 

Remeber that this book was published over 40 years ago and some of the rarity ratings are not what they should be. Very nice pieces to find in Gem condition.

 

regards,

 

dealmakr

[TomB]

KC, my Sesqui piece is a warm copper color and I would not consider it MS. It is more like an AU55 or so and cost me $25. The silver Pan-Pac is an AU58, the type that had been an MS64 but for a hint of rub, and it cost me more, perhaps $50-$75.

[truthteller]

HK-454 was struck in nickel, not silver. In the HK book, there is no reference to silver issues for this medal. While the nickel issue is less common than the bronze issue, the copper issue is very scarce.

 

 

 

TRUTH

[Wihlborg]

Hi dealmakr,

 

Thanks for the info about what the HK-454 was made of. I thought it was nickel when I saw it, but the dealer I bought it from referred to it as silver a couple of times while we were talking about it. He didn’t say it was struck in silver, he just made reference to the fact that the ‘silver’ issue was rarer than the brass and bronze issues. Since I don’t have the So Called Dollar book yet I assumed that he meant it was silver.

 

I have been trying to find a decent copy of the SC dollars book, but it seems the book is harder to find than the medals!

 

Thanks again for the info and comments about the medals.

 

John

[jonathanb-migration]

I have been trying to find a decent copy of the SC dollars book, but it seems the book is harder to find than the medals!

 

There are 8 copies available from Abebooks. I got my copy there, but snagged one for under $50 I think.

 

I know the picture is lousy, but here's my so-called contribution. I'm very pleased with the multi-coin holder!

(I grew up in Lexington, and I'd always be interested in obtaining additional copies of HK-16/17/18 (or HK-1004 -- hah!) if anyone is looking to part with one...)

 

jonathan

[Wihlborg]

Krypto,

 

How much the So Called Dollars go for in mint state depends upon a number of factors. Rarity, grade, and who you are buying from certainly come into play, the same as with coins, however a big difference is that there is no gray sheet price list to use as a guideline.

 

The standard reference book for these medals was published back in the sixties and listed prices as of that time, but as you can imagine those prices are way outdated today. Depending on the issue you could certainly buy a nice mint state example starting at about $100. Some of the rarer issues could probably go for tens of thousands of dollars.

 

Good deals can be found however depending upon who you buy from. For instance, I paid $149 for this example on eBay.

It is in an NGC holder graded MS-66. When I checked the feedback for the person selling this medal it looked like they sold mostly odds and ends, not coins or medals. Recently, while talking to a dealer who handles SC dollars, I mentioned that I had this medal graded MS-66. The dealer asked how much I paid for it. When I told him he could not believe it. He said that he would not have sold this medal for less than $500! I was shocked, but that is what he said.

 

John

[Wihlborg]

Jonathan,

 

WOW! That’s a wonderful set!

 

Thanks for the lead on the SC dollar book. I’ll be making a couple of calls tomorrow!

 

John

[Hoot]

Fabulous information in this thread!

 

I never tire of seeing that wonderful Chicago CE medal of yours John!

 

Hoot