1912 So-Called Dollar HK-816, Thomas Elder, Dollar

Coin Details

Description

HK-816 is a numismatic medal from the prolific workshop of Thomas L. Elder, the legendary New York coin dealer who cataloged 292 auction sales between 1903 and 1940. Thomas Lindsay Elder (1874-1948) was born in Dayton, Pennsylvania, attended the Park Institute in Allegheny and Beaver College, and worked as a court stenographer and telegrapher before settling in New York City. He opened his dealership at 32 East 23rd Street in May 1904 (later moving to 8-10 West 37th Street), began collecting coins at age 13, joined the American Numismatic Association in 1899, and co-founded the New York Numismatic Club in 1908. Elder conducted 292 auction sales between 1903 and 1940, establishing himself as one of the most prolific American numismatic catalogers of his era. Elder designed or delineated most of the 104 tokens and medals he issued during his lifetime, making him America's most prolific private medal issuer of the period. His numismatic so-called dollar series (HK-798 through HK-819, HK-1022 through HK-1028) includes commemorative pieces, political commentary medals like the 1912 'Gold Basis' Dollar (HK-810, HK-813), and collector novelties. Elder's productions served as both promotional pieces for his business and as collectible medallic art. So-called dollars acquired their name because they are not true dollar coins but rather privately issued medals that approximate the size and weight of U.S. silver dollars. The collecting specialty emerged in the early 20th century and was formalized by the Hibler-Kappen catalog, which organized hundreds of diverse pieces — from exposition medals to political tokens to private monetary experiments — into a coherent collecting framework.

Rarity Notes

Thomas Elder numismatic so-called dollars from the HK-798 to HK-819 range survive in varying quantities. Various compositions exist, with silver being the rarest and base metals more commonly encountered. The lettered variants (a, b, c suffixes) are generally scarcer than the primary types. Elder's pieces are actively collected both as so-called dollars and as examples of early 20th-century American numismatic entrepreneurship.

Cross References

HK-816; PCGS #643551