1876 Bronze So-Called Dollar GW-889, HK-106, White Plains

Coin Details

Auction Record

$1,320 MS65BN 11-18-2020 Stack's Bowers

Description

This commemorative so-called dollar (HK-106) from 1876 celebrates White Plains. Machinery Hall covered 13 acres and housed the 1,400-horsepower Corliss steam engine, standing 70 feet tall and weighing 650 tons, which powered all exhibits through five miles of overhead belts and shafts. Struck in bronze, this piece combines durability with an attractive warm tone that deepens with age into a rich chocolate-brown patina. Bronze was the preferred composition for many commemorative medals due to its excellent detail retention. The U.S. Mint struck official Centennial medals designed by William Barber, while private firms produced hundreds of additional varieties. The Centennial group is the largest in the HK catalog. William Barber designed the official U.S. Mint medals for the 1876 Centennial Exposition, establishing the standard for American exposition medal artistry. 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.

Rarity Notes

Bronze strikings of HK-106 are common to moderately scarce. Post-Civil War era medals were often distributed at events, with many entering circulation as pocket pieces rather than being preserved as collectibles.

Cross References

HK-106; PCGS #642260; NGC #850198