1897 Aluminum So-Called Dollar HK-640, New Bedford Semicentennial

Coin Details

Auction Record

$384 MS63PL 06-13-2018 Goldberg Auctioneers

Description

Cataloged as HK-640, this 1897 so-called dollar commemorates New Bedford Semi-Cent in Massachusetts. The centennial movement in America gained momentum after the 1876 national Centennial in Philadelphia, inspiring communities large and small to mark their own 100th anniversaries with locally produced commemorative medals and tokens. Aluminum so-called dollars, while lighter than their traditional-metal counterparts, maintain sharp design detail due to the metal's excellent die-filling properties under pressure. Whitehead-Hoag's Newark factory produced millions of commemorative pieces during the company's seven-decade history, including medals for world's fairs, presidential campaigns, and military events. From Plymouth Rock to Bunker Hill, Massachusetts' central role in American history generated numerous commemorative medals celebrating the milestones of communities that shaped the nation's founding and development. So-called dollars — defined as privately issued medals approximately the size of a silver dollar — encompass one of the most diverse and historically rich collecting fields in American numismatics. 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

Local commemorative so-called dollars from the Gilded Age survive in varying quantities. Aluminum examples of HK-640 are moderately scarce in the numismatic market.

Cross References

HK-640; PCGS #643139