1876 Copper So-Called Dollar HK-43, Independence Hall Dollar

Coin Details

Auction Record

$576 MS64BN 03-05-2019 Stack's Bowers

Description

This 1876 so-called dollar (HK-43) commemorates Independence Hall. Memorial Hall, built beneath a 150-foot dome in the Beaux-Arts style, housed the exposition's art gallery as the only permanent structure constructed for the fair and survives today in Fairmount Park. This copper so-called dollar exemplifies the traditional American commemorative medal. Copper's excellent strike characteristics allow even small design details to be rendered with precision. 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. George Morgan, famous for his Liberty Head silver dollar design, also contributed to exposition medal production during his long tenure at the U.S. Mint. Harold Hibler and Charles Kappen spent decades cataloging American dollar-sized medals, creating a reference work that transformed a scattered collecting field into an organized numismatic specialty.

Rarity Notes

Copper strikings of HK-43 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-43; PCGS #642109; NGC #850099