1893 White Metal So-Called Dollar HK-631, Cazenovia Centennial

Coin Details

Description

HK-631 is a 1893 so-called dollar commemorating Cazenovia Centennial in New York. Community centennial celebrations followed a well-established pattern: a planning committee organized events, commissioned a commemorative medal, and distributed pieces to attendees as lasting souvenirs of the celebration. Struck in white metal (a tin-based alloy), this piece represents one of the most common compositions for 19th-century commemorative medals. White metal's low cost and attractive silvery appearance made it ideal for mass-distribution commemoratives. As a major American badge and medal manufacturer, Whitehead-Hoag combined industrial-scale production with competent artistic design, making commemorative pieces accessible to a broad range of organizations and events. New York's position as America's commercial capital and most populous state generated one of the richest traditions of commemorative medal production, with events ranging from the Erie Canal's completion to the Hudson-Fulton celebration producing significant medallic series. Collectors of so-called dollars pursue pieces by exposition, metal type, engraver, geographic region, or historical theme, with complete sets of certain exposition groups being particularly prized accomplishments. Pre-1900 local commemorative medals are among the most historically significant in the so-called dollar series, documenting the celebrations of communities still within living memory of their founding or early settlement periods.

Rarity Notes

HK-631 is moderately scarce among so-called dollar collectors. Local commemorative medals from the Gilded Age were typically produced in limited quantities for distribution at the celebration event.

Cross References

HK-631; PCGS #643114