1886 So-Called Dollar HK-601a, Albany Bicentennial

Coin Details

Description

The 1886 Albany Bicentennial so-called dollar (HK-601A) is a local commemorative piece in New York. Centennial celebrations were among the most significant civic events in American communities, marking 100 years since a city's founding, incorporation, or other milestone with parades, ceremonies, and the issuance of commemorative medals. 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. American commemorative medal manufacturers ranged from the U.S. Mint to small regional die-sinkers, with each firm bringing distinctive artistic approaches and production capabilities to the medallic arts. New York's position as America's commercial capital and most populous state generated one of the richest traditions of commemorative medal production, with events ranging from the Erie Canal's completion to the Hudson-Fulton celebration producing significant medallic series. The Hibler-Kappen catalog, first published in 1963 by Harold E. Hibler and Charles V. Kappen, systematically organized American so-called dollars for the first time, assigning HK numbers that remain the standard reference today. Pre-1900 local commemorative medals are among the most historically significant in the so-called dollar series, documenting the celebrations of communities still within living memory of their founding or early settlement periods. This piece is a variant of HK-601, distinguished by differences in composition, die state, or striking characteristics.

Rarity Notes

Local commemorative so-called dollars from the Gilded Age survive in varying quantities. Examples of HK-601A are scarce in the numismatic market.

Cross References

HK-601A; PCGS #643045