1898 So-Called Dollar HK-642, California Gold Discovery

Coin Details

Auction Record

$264 MS62 12-21-2020 Stack's Bowers

Description

This 1898 local commemorative so-called dollar (HK-642) honors California Gold Discovery in California. Personal commemorative so-called dollars provide a medallic portrait gallery of Americans whose achievements merited recognition through specially struck pieces, preserving the faces and stories of notable figures. Struck in gold, this piece represents the most prestigious and rarest composition for so-called dollars. Gold strikings were reserved for presentation copies, typically produced in quantities of fewer than a dozen for dignitaries and officials. The Whitehead-Hoag Company of Newark, New Jersey was one of America's largest manufacturers of badges, buttons, and commemorative medals from the 1890s through the mid-20th century, producing pieces for political campaigns, fraternal organizations, and civic celebrations. Golden State communities marked their milestones with commemorative medals that reflect California's unique blend of Spanish colonial heritage, Gold Rush entrepreneurship, and modern technological innovation. The Hibler-Kappen catalog, first published in 1963 by Harold E. Hibler and Charles V. Kappen, systematically organized American so-called dollars for the first time, assigning HK numbers that remain the standard reference today. 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-642 is rare to extremely rare 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-642; PCGS #643141