1897 So-Called Dollar HK-840, AK Souvenir Gold

Coin Details

Description

This 1897 Alaska Gold Souvenir (HK-840) is a small gold token capitalizing on the public fascination with Alaska during the Klondike Gold Rush era, struck in low-karat gold at a diminutive 13mm diameter. These tokens were produced by M.E. Hart (Mary Elizabeth Hart) and later sold by the legendary numismatic promoter Farran Zerbe as part of his 'Coins of the Golden West' set at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. The complete set of 36 pieces, offered in a Tiffany frame, encompassed Alaska pieces plus Minerva Bears, Indian Bears, and souvenir gold tokens from Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. Many catalog numbers (HK-839 through HK-849) are known from no surviving examples, making the complete series virtually impossible to assemble. The Alaska Gold Souvenirs occupy a unique niche in the so-called dollar catalog as among the smallest and most precious-metal-intensive pieces in the series. Their connection to the Klondike Gold Rush — one of the great adventure stories of American history — combined with genuine gold content and extreme rarity for many varieties makes them highly sought after by collectors of both so-called dollars and Western Americana. The HK numbering system groups so-called dollars broadly by type: exposition and commemorative pieces in the lower numbers, with monetary, miscellaneous, and later additions in higher ranges. Lettered suffixes (a, b, c, d) typically indicate variant compositions or die states of the same basic design, while entries above HK-900 include pieces added in later catalog supplements.

Rarity Notes

Alaska Souvenir Gold pieces from the 1897 period are scarce to rare, with gold content ensuring that many were eventually melted. The HK-numbered pieces represent the cataloged so-called dollar-sized variants of a much larger family of Alaska gold souvenirs. Gold examples are particularly desirable to collectors of both so-called dollars and Alaska territorial numismatics.

Cross References

HK-840; PCGS #643578