1889 So-Called Dollar HK-148, Forefathers Monument

Coin Details

Auction Record

Description

The National Monument to the Forefathers at Plymouth, Massachusetts, was dedicated on August 1, 1889, and this white metal medal was the official one, given to officials and guests at the ceremonies. The obverse shows the monument with "National Monument" around and "Plymouth, Mass." below; the reverse has the state seal inside a circle, with Massachusetts above and thirteen stars below. The idea went back to the Pilgrim Society's charter of 1819. Hammatt Billings of Boston designed the granite monument, whose first stone was set on August 2, 1859; it stands 81 feet tall, with Faith on the main pedestal and seated figures of Morality, Law, Education and Liberty below. Some 11,000 donors at home and abroad paid for it over thirty years, and Governor Oliver Ames gave the whole cost of the Faith statue. HK-148 is white metal, 38 mm; the medal's designer is not recorded.

Cross References

HK-148; PCGS #642407; NGC #850265