1933 So-Called Dollar HK-680, Santa Monica Breakwater

Coin Details

Auction Record

$504 AU50 08-25-2021 Stack's Bowers

Description

HK-680 is a 1933 so-called dollar commemorating Santa Monica Breakwater in California. Personal commemorative so-called dollars provide a medallic portrait gallery of Americans whose achievements merited recognition through specially struck pieces, preserving the faces and stories of notable figures. 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. In 1930, MACO's owner Clyde Curlee Trees co-founded the Society of Medalists, launching the longest-running art medal series in American history with 129 issues through 1995 by sculptors including Laura Gardin Fraser and Paul Manship. California's dramatic history — from the Gold Rush through the San Francisco earthquake to its emergence as America's most populous state — generated commemorative medals documenting the rapid transformation of the Pacific Coast. So-called dollars — defined as privately issued medals approximately the size of a silver dollar — encompass one of the most diverse and historically rich collecting fields in American numismatics. The 1930s-1940s produced fewer local commemorative medals than adjacent decades, but the pieces that were issued often carry particular historical significance as documents of community resilience during Depression and war.

Rarity Notes

Examples of HK-680 are scarce. Distribution was usually limited to event attendees and local residents, with surviving pieces ranging from well-worn pocket pieces to carefully preserved specimens.

Cross References

HK-680; PCGS #643242