1892-1893 So-Called Dollar HK-161a, 93) Il Electric Bld-Dollar

Coin Details

Auction Record

$152 MS62 12-17-2022 eBay

Description

The 1892 93) Il Electric Bld- so-called dollar (HK-161a) is a commemorative piece from the World's Columbian Exposition series. The 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago's Jackson Park was one of the most spectacular events in American history, attracting over 27 million visitors to Daniel Burnham's neoclassical White City along the Lake Michigan shore. 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. Both the U.S. Mint and numerous private firms struck Columbian medals. Charles Barber designed official mint issues. The exposition also generated the first U.S. commemorative coins (Columbian half dollar). Barber's clean, classical engraving style defined the look of official American exposition medals for over three decades of world's fairs. 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. This piece is a variant of HK-161, distinguished by differences in composition, die state, or striking characteristics that merit a separate catalog entry in the Hibler-Kappen reference.

Rarity Notes

HK-161a is scarce in the numismatic market. Production quantities for Gilded Age commemorative medals were typically modest, and survival rates vary significantly based on the original distribution method and the material's durability.

Cross References

HK-161a; PCGS #642431; NGC #850287