1869 HK-12a, Pacific Railway Dollar

Coin Details

Auction Record

Description

HK-12a is the silver proof striking of the Pacific Railway medal, made at the Philadelphia Mint from dies designed and engraved by William Barber under an authorization of the 41st Congress. It commemorates May 10, 1869, when the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads joined at Promontory, Utah, completing the first line across the continent, an achievement Hibler and Kappen rank with the great economic accomplishments of the century to that time. The obverse names the "Presidency of U. S. Grant" above his bare profile; the reverse shows a train crossing between two oceans under the motto "Every mountain shall be made low," with Barber's signature and the name of the Mint director, J. Pollock, below. The medal was first issued in bronze in 1870 (HK-12), and a gilt bronze version on a thick planchet is HK-12b. Silver, 45 mm, Julian CM-39.

Cross References

HK-12a; PCGS #642038; NGC #850023