1942 Bronze So-Called Dollar HK-700a, Philharmonic Society Centennial

Coin Details

Auction Record

$173 MS-66HK-700A 09-25-2007 Goldberg Auctioneers

Description

Designated HK-700 in the Hibler-Kappen catalog, this 1939 piece commemorates Stratford Tercentenary in Connecticut. Centennial medals served as tangible connections to a community's founding era, with designs typically featuring the city seal, important local landmarks, portraits of founding figures, or scenes from the community's early history. This bronze so-called dollar represents the standard commemorative medal composition of its era. Bronze pieces were often the primary production run, with silver reserved for presentation copies and white metal for budget editions. After relocations from Manhattan to Danbury, Connecticut (1972), Sioux Falls, South Dakota (1991), and Dayton, Nevada (1997), the company's archive of 50,000 items including 20,000 dies was rescued by the American Numismatic Society in 2018. 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. Local commemoratives from the Depression and wartime era (1930-1950) reflect both economic hardship and patriotic fervor, with communities marking milestones despite — or perhaps because of — the challenging times.

Rarity Notes

Local commemorative so-called dollars from the interwar period survive in varying quantities. Bronze examples of HK-700 are common to moderately scarce in the numismatic market.

Cross References

HK-700; PCGS #643296