1876 So-Called Dollar HK-42, Independence Hall Dollar

Coin Details

Description

Cataloged as HK-42, this 1876 so-called dollar honors Independence Hall. The Women's Pavilion was the first building at any international exposition funded, designed, managed, and filled entirely by women, showcasing female inventors, artists, and entrepreneurs from across the nation. 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. Barber's engraving style combined classical European training with American patriotic iconography, producing medals of exceptional technical quality. The Hibler-Kappen catalog has been updated and expanded since its 1963 first edition, with later researchers adding newly discovered varieties and extending coverage into the modern era.

Rarity Notes

Strikings of HK-42 are 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-42; PCGS #642108; NGC #850098