1893 HK-174, World Globe Dollar

Coin Details

Auction Record

$353 MS62 11-29-2012 Heritage Auctions

Description

Cataloged as HK-174, this 1893 so-called dollar honors World Globe. 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 HK numbering system established by Hibler and Kappen in 1963 brought order to hundreds of previously uncataloged American commemorative medals, many of which had been ignored by mainstream numismatic references.

Rarity Notes

HK-174 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-174; PCGS #642450; NGC #850309