1894 HK-245, Brass, Type I California Midwinter Expo Dollar

Coin Details

Auction Record

Description

For years this brass piece and its Type II companion were taken to be the official medals of San Francisco's California Midwinter Exposition of 1894, but Hibler and Kappen point out that the fair never labeled any dollar-size medal as official. HK-245 is Type I, 33 mm. Its obverse sets a modified version of the California state seal inside a plain circle at the border. The reverse is all lettering: five lines across the center read "Souvenir / California / Midwinter / Exposition / San Francisco," the date sits below between stars, and "The Land of Sunshine Fruit and Flowers" runs around the edge inside another plain circle. That motto suits the fair's aims, which were to draw a world audience to California, to take minds off the Panic of 1893, and to show settlers what the state could offer. Type II is HK-245a.

Cross References

HK-245; PCGS #642599; NGC #424400