1892-1893 So-Called Dollar HK-161, New Metal Dollar

Coin Details

Description

HK-161 is an aluminum souvenir of the World's Columbian Exposition, signed in tiny letters "Childs, Chicago" on the reverse. One side gives a bird's-eye view of the fair's buildings and grounds with the date 1892, the year the grounds were dedicated, on October 21; the gates opened to the public in May 1893. The other side is an advertisement for the metal itself: "Aluminum" across a ribbon, a list of its virtues such as malleable, sonorous and untarnishable, and a comparison of weights, 1,204 pounds for a cubic foot of gold against 179 for aluminum, ending with "This medal is pure." Hibler and Kappen group it with the fair's "new metal" aluminum dollars, and Eglit numbers it 443. This piece is aluminum, 37 mm.

Cross References

HK-161; PCGS #642430; NGC #850285