1904 So-Called Dollar HK-324, Uss California Launching

Coin Details

Description

The armored cruiser California went down the ways at the Union Iron Works in San Francisco on April 28, 1904, under the sponsorship of the Native Sons of the Golden West, and this brass medal records the launching. The obverse puts the order's initials, "N.S.G.W.," over a setting sun and the Golden Gate, then crossed flags, partly furled, then the ship inside a horseshoe-shaped ribbon lettered "Armored Cruiser California," with "Launched / April 28--1904" below. The reverse is a modified California state seal. The cruiser was 502 feet long and 70 feet wide, displaced 13,440 tons and cost five million dollars. The medals seem to have been given, not sold, to members and guests at the launching and at the evening program of speeches held that day at Woodward's Pavilion. HK-324 is brass, 36 mm; the copper is HK-324a.

Cross References

HK-324; PCGS #642736; NGC #850557