1876 So-Called Dollar HK-56, Liberty Seated Dollar

Coin Details

Auction Record

$70 AU58BN 11-20-2019 Stack's Bowers

Description

The 1876 Liberty Seated so-called dollar (HK-56) is a commemorative piece from the U.S. Centennial Exposition series. 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. Bronze examples of so-called dollars offer collectors an excellent balance of affordability, condition, and aesthetic appeal. The alloy's hardness produces sharp strikes with fine detail that survives handling better than softer metals. 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. The HK numbering system established by Hibler and Kappen in 1963 brought order to hundreds of previously uncataloged American commemorative medals, many of which had been ignored by mainstream numismatic references.

Rarity Notes

Strikings of HK-56 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-56; PCGS #642137; NGC #650110