1889 So-Called Dollar HK-616, Maryland Exposition

Coin Details

Description

This 1889 local commemorative so-called dollar (HK-616) honors Maryland Exposition in Maryland. Regional expositions and county fairs were among the most anticipated annual events in American communities, with commemorative medals providing lasting souvenirs for the thousands of attendees who visited exhibits and entertainments. This bronze so-called dollar represents the standard commemorative medal composition of its era. Bronze pieces were often the primary production run, with silver reserved for presentation copies and white metal for budget editions. Private medal manufacturers played a central role in American commemorative culture, providing communities with the means to create lasting metallic records of their most significant celebrations and milestones. So-called dollars — defined as privately issued medals approximately the size of a silver dollar — encompass one of the most diverse and historically rich collecting fields in American numismatics. 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.

Rarity Notes

Local commemorative so-called dollars from the Gilded Age survive in varying quantities. Examples of HK-616 are scarce in the numismatic market.

Cross References

HK-616; PCGS #643078