1857 White Metal So-Called Dollar HK-757, Dr. Elisha Kent Kane

Coin Details

Auction Record

$780 MS61 03-05-2019 Stack's Bowers

Description

The 1857 Dr. Elisha Kent Kane so-called dollar (HK-757) is a local commemorative piece. Personal commemorative so-called dollars provide a medallic portrait gallery of Americans whose achievements merited recognition through specially struck pieces, preserving the faces and stories of notable figures. Struck in white metal (a tin-based alloy), this piece represents one of the most common compositions for 19th-century commemorative medals. White metal's low cost and attractive silvery appearance made it ideal for mass-distribution commemoratives. The production of commemorative medals in America supported a network of skilled engravers, die sinkers, and press operators whose craft combined artistic sensibility with industrial precision. Collectors of so-called dollars pursue pieces by exposition, metal type, engraver, geographic region, or historical theme, with complete sets of certain exposition groups being particularly prized accomplishments. Pre-1900 local commemorative medals are among the most historically significant in the so-called dollar series, documenting the celebrations of communities still within living memory of their founding or early settlement periods.

Rarity Notes

Examples of HK-757 are moderately scarce. Distribution was usually limited to event attendees and local residents, with surviving pieces ranging from well-worn pocket pieces to carefully preserved specimens.

Cross References

HK-757; PCGS #643443