1776 So-Called Dollar HK-852, Continental Dollar On 1876 $20 Dollar

Coin Details

Auction Record

$30,000 MS64 08-23-2024 Stack's Bowers

Description

Cataloged as HK-852, this tin Continental Dollar restrike carries the legendary FUGIO sundial and linked-rings design attributed to Benjamin Franklin. In 1962, Robert Bashlow acquired Dickeson's dies and commissioned August C. Frank Co. of Philadelphia to produce restrikes: 2,000 silver pieces (HK-852a, with small 'S' on reverse), 5,000 bronze (HK-853a), and 3,000 goldine/golden brass (HK-856a). Separately, Empire Coin Company had 7,200 white metal pieces (HK-854a) struck by John Pinches, Ltd. of England. Bashlow donated the dies to the Smithsonian Institution and also produced restrikes of the 1616 Sommer Islands, J.J. Conway $5 Gold, and the 1861 Confederate States Half Dollar. Prof. Montroville W. Dickeson produced Continental Dollar copies during the 1876 United States Centennial celebration in Philadelphia. Thomas K. DeLorey's planchet analysis corrected the earlier attribution of these pieces to Thomas L. Elder. Dickeson struck pieces primarily in white metal (hundreds) and copper (a few handfuls), with limited production in silver (only 50 according to John W. Haseltine), plus gold, pewter, and lead variants. These Centennial restrikes are cataloged as HK-852 through HK-856. The Hibler-Kappen catalog, first published in 1963 by Harold E. Hibler and Charles V. Kappen as 'So-Called Dollars: An Illustrated Standard Catalog,' provides the systematic numbering system (HK numbers) used to identify and classify hundreds of American medals approximately the size of a silver dollar. The catalog has been revised and expanded in subsequent editions, with Jeff Shevlin's contributions significantly expanding the known census.

Rarity Notes

The 1876 Centennial restrikes are scarce, produced in limited quantities during the Centennial celebration.

Cross References

HK-852; PCGS #643592