1891 White Metal So-Called Dollar HK-153, Stark-Warner Dollar

Coin Details

Description

HK-153 is a 1891 so-called dollar commemorating Stark-Warner. The 1880s saw a wave of western statehood admissions — including North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Washington in 1889 — each generating commemorative medals celebrating the transition from territory to state. Struck in white metal (a tin-based alloy), this piece represents one of the most common compositions for 19th-century commemorative medals. White metal's low cost and attractive silvery appearance made it ideal for mass-distribution commemoratives. State and regional medals were typically commissioned by local committees and struck by private manufacturers. Silver and white metal compositions predominate. Harold Hibler and Charles Kappen spent decades cataloging American dollar-sized medals, creating a reference work that transformed a scattered collecting field into an organized numismatic specialty.

Rarity Notes

Examples of HK-153 are moderately scarce among so-called dollar collectors. Gilded Age commemorative medals survive in varying numbers depending on original mintage and subsequent preservation.

Cross References

HK-153; PCGS #642417; NGC #850270