1913 So-Called Dollar HK-397, Portola Festival

Coin Details

Auction Record

$780 MS62 03-05-2019 Stack's Bowers

Description

This 1913 so-called dollar (HK-397) commemorates Portola Festival. The 1907 Jamestown Tercentenary Exposition in Norfolk, Virginia commemorated the 300th anniversary of the first permanent English settlement in America, generating commemorative medals and the Jamestown gold dollar. Struck in bronze, this piece combines durability with an attractive warm tone that deepens with age into a rich chocolate-brown patina. Bronze was the preferred composition for many commemorative medals due to its excellent detail retention. Miscellaneous national commemorative medals were produced by a wide range of manufacturers, from the U.S. Mint to local die-sinkers, covering subjects from presidential inaugurations to infrastructure milestones. Harold Hibler and Charles Kappen spent decades cataloging American dollar-sized medals, creating a reference work that transformed a scattered collecting field into an organized numismatic specialty.

Rarity Notes

Strikings of HK-397 are scarce. Early 20th century medals were often distributed at events, with many entering circulation as pocket pieces rather than being preserved as collectibles.

Cross References

HK-397; PCGS #643841; NGC #850664