1901 Lesher Dollar - HK-1018, J.E. Nelson & Co.

Coin Details

Auction Record

$40,000-$50,000 estimate • AU55 NGC • 02-2020 • Kagin's Henderson-Marchase Collection

Description

The 1901 Lesher Dollar HK-1018, stamped for J.E. Nelson & Co. of Holdrege, Nebraska, is the only Lesher Dollar merchant variety distributed outside the state of Colorado. The imprint reads "J. E. NELSON & CO. / HOLDREGE, NEB." Nelson operated a clothing store in Holdrege, a small railroad town in south-central Nebraska, and distributed the Lesher Dollars at the formal opening of his new store as promotional pieces. The Nelson variety's Nebraska connection makes it unique in the series and raises important questions about the geographic ambitions of Lesher's enterprise. While all other merchant participants were Colorado businesses — from Victor and Cripple Creek to Denver, Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Salida, and Grand Junction — the Nelson distribution demonstrates that Lesher was willing to place his pieces with merchants far beyond the Colorado silver mining region where the Referendum concept originated. With approximately 50 pieces stamped but only about 8 known survivors, the Nelson variety is rated R-8, making it among the rarest merchant types. The low survival rate relative to estimated production may reflect the pieces' distribution as store-opening novelties in a Nebraska community unfamiliar with Lesher's silver currency system, where recipients valued them more as curiosities than as circulating money.

Rarity Notes

R-8. Approximately 50 stamped, with only about 8 known survivors. The only Lesher Dollar variety distributed outside Colorado.

Cross References

HK-1018; Zerbe-13 (Z-13); PCGS #19016