1897 HK-836, Bickford Dollar Aluminum, Brass Center Dollar

Coin Details

Auction Record

Description

HK-836 belongs to the set of eight 28 mm "international dollar" pieces that New York inventor Dana Bickford issued in 1897, this one made of aluminum with a brass center plug. Bickford had pitched a common world coinage to Mint Director Henry R. Linderman, who had a pattern struck to one of his designs in 1874 before Congress let the idea drop. This type ties the scheme to Ulysses S. Grant: the obverse sets Grant's bust into the dome of his tomb, with "Warrior Citizen Statesman" and the date April 27, 1897, the day President McKinley dedicated the tomb in New York. The reverse calls the piece "The International Bi-Metal Dollar" and lists its equivalent in French, Austrian, Japanese, Russian, German and English money, with Bickford's claim of invention. Aluminum with a brass center, 28 mm.

Cross References

HK-836; PCGS #643574