1933 HK-826, Dollar

Coin Details

Description

HK-826 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. The campaign spawned related state issues: the Montana Dollar (HK-820) and the Nevada Dollar (HK-821), the latter created when a Pedley-Ryan agent sold blank planchets to Sterling Co. in Nevada, who stamped them with their own name and state while using Pedley-Ryan's reverse dies. Together, these Depression-era silver dollars document the moment when silver advocacy, economic desperation, and entrepreneurial initiative converged in the American West during the darkest year of the Great Depression. 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 Type I (60 pieces, January 5) and Type II (15 pieces, January 6) were the earliest, with Type II withdrawn after a fineness error and 'Fine' chiseled out of the die for Type III (fewer than 85).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. 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

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.

Cross References

HK-826; PCGS #643561