1931 HK-460, Reaper Centennial Dollar

Coin Details

Auction Record

Description

Cyrus Hall McCormick was 22 when, in July 1831, he showed in a small field near Steele's Tavern, Virginia, that the reaper he had built in his family's farm forge would work. International Harvester marked the centennial in 1931 with this official medal, designed and modeled by the sculptor Emory P. Seidel and struck by Medallic Art Co. The obverse bust, turned partly left, carries McCormick's name, his dates 1809 and 1884, and "Inventor / of the / Reaper." On the reverse two men, one riding, work a horse-drawn reaper toward the right under "International Harvester Company," above a shield lettered "Centennial of / the Reaper" with crossed wheat straws between 1831 and 1931. The medal was given away rather than sold, the company hoping every American farmer would own one. HK-460 is bronze, 34 mm, edge-marked Medallic Art Co. N. Y.; HK-460a is nickel-silver.

Cross References

HK-460; PCGS #643990; NGC #850756