1892-1893 So-Called Dollar HK-188, The Electrical Building

Coin Details

Description

Electricity was still young in 1893, and the Chicago fair was the first exposition to use it for lavish lighting; it also gave the Westinghouse alternating-current generator its first public showing. The Electrical Building on this reverse is lettered "345 Ft. Wide 700 Ft. Long" with a cost of 401,000 dollars, inside a beaded border, and the obverse carries the Columbus bust in a wreath common to the Exhibition Palace dollars. HK-188 is the reeded-edge brass striking, Eglit 126; Hibler and Kappen also list silver-plated brass (HK-188a) and aluminum (HK-189). The Electrical side was reused as the obverse of HK-203 and its sisters, backed by the Manufactures and Liberal Arts design. HK-188 is brass, 35 mm, from the exposition dedicated in 1892.

Cross References

HK-188; PCGS #642474; NGC #850327