1933 HK-822, Pedley-Ryan Type I Dollar

Coin Details

Auction Record

$1,080 MS63 05-29-2019 Stack's Bowers

Description

HK-822 is a Depression-era silver dollar from Pedley-Ryan & Co., produced as part of a silver speculation campaign that predated Roosevelt's March 6, 1933 bank holiday by two months. This Type I variety reflects the rapid evolution of the series during its first months of production. Pedley-Ryan & Co., a Denver investment house, launched its 'Buy-an-Ounce-of-Silver' campaign on January 5, 1933, selling round, rimless, plain-edge silver discs the size of a standard U.S. dollar. Each disc contained one ounce of silver (430 grains, 99% fine) and was sold three for a dollar, with the firm agreeing to redeem them at prevailing silver market prices. Bar silver was then quoted at just 27 cents an ounce, and the firm bet that investors would profit when silver reached the bimetallists' hoped-for 16-to-1 ratio with gold. The campaign predated Roosevelt's March 6, 1933 bank holiday by two months, making these silver speculation pieces rather than emergency scrip. Type I (60 pieces, January 5, 1933) was the first issued, with both obverse and reverse showing "Pedley-Ryan & Co. Denver." The series encompasses seven types (HK-822 through HK-828) produced over the first half of 1933. Type I (60 pieces, January 5) and Type II (15 pieces, January 6) were the earliest, with Type II withdrawn after a fineness error and 'Fine' chiseled out of the die for Type III (fewer than 85). Type IV (up to 500 pieces, January 7 onward) became the most common variety. Type V omitted 'Denver' from the obverse, Type VI featured a 'Robbins on the Corner' counterstamp (300 sold in one day), and Type VII (50 pieces, June 1933) was the sole embossed variety with all previous types stamped incuse. Each HK number represents a distinct combination of design, composition, and die state, creating a collecting framework that rewards careful study and attention to detail. The monetary so-called dollars occupy a special niche within this framework, as they represent not just commemorative art but actual experiments in private coinage, political advocacy through medallic form, and commentary on the great monetary debates that shaped American economic history.

Rarity Notes

Pedley-Ryan Dollars survive in moderate numbers for the more common types, though silver examples and higher type numbers are scarcer. Depression-era scrip so-called dollars are actively sought by collectors of both so-called dollars and Depression-era Americana. Silver examples command the strongest premiums.

Cross References

HK-822; PCGS #643557