1892-1893 So-Called Dollar HK-183, Government Building

Coin Details

Auction Record

$288 MS62DMPL 11-20-2019 Stack's Bowers

Description

Designated HK-183 in the Hibler-Kappen catalog, this 1892 piece commemorates Government Building. The Columbian Exposition produced the second-largest group of so-called dollars in the HK catalog after the 1876 Centennial, including pieces struck by the U.S. Mint and dozens of private exhibitors and concessionaires. 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. 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-183 are scarce among so-called dollar collectors. Gilded Age commemorative medals survive in varying numbers depending on original mintage and subsequent preservation.

Cross References

HK-183; PCGS #642463; NGC #850320