1861 HK-829, Aaron White Satirical Dollar

Coin Details

Auction Record

$552 MS64BN 01-06-2021 Stack's Bowers

Description

This 1861 Aaron White Satirical Dollar (HK-829) is a piece cataloged in the monetary section of the Hibler-Kappen so-called dollar reference. The Aaron White Satirical Dollar is a pre-Civil War political commentary piece that used the medium of medal-sized pieces to lampoon monetary policy. Satirical dollars were a distinctly American numismatic tradition, reflecting the intense partisan debates over banking, currency, and the role of government in the economy that characterized the Jacksonian era and its aftermath. So-called dollars acquired their name because they are not true dollar coins but rather privately issued medals that approximate the size and weight of U.S. silver dollars. The collecting specialty emerged in the early 20th century and was formalized by the Hibler-Kappen catalog, which organized hundreds of diverse pieces — from exposition medals to political tokens to private monetary experiments — into a coherent collecting framework.

Rarity Notes

This 1861 so-called dollar is generally scarce in the numismatic market. Copper examples are collected by specialists in so-called dollars and American medallic art.

Cross References

HK-829; PCGS #643565