HK-866, White Metal, Elder Confederation Dollar

Coin Details

Auction Record

$1,140 MS63 06-23-2020 Stack's Bowers

Description

HK-866 is a white metal Confederation Dollar, one of a series reproducing the iconography of Continental Congress currency in medallic form at a standard 39mm diameter. The Confederation Dollar series (HK-857 through HK-866) comprises later reproductions of designs drawn from Continental Congress currency of the Articles of Confederation period (1778-1789). Three primary design sources appear: the Confederation vignette from $40 bills (an all-seeing eye over a flaming altar with 13 stars, HK-857 through HK-860d and HK-866 series); the Perseverando beaver design from $6 bills (Latin for 'By Persevering,' HK-863 through HK-863d); and the Eagle and Heron imagery from $3 bills (with the motto 'The End Is in Doubt,' HK-864 through HK-865d). Struck in a remarkable range of materials including copper, brass, German-silver, white metal, silver, aluminum, lead, and fiber at a standard 39mm diameter, the Confederation Dollars represent the full spectrum of medallic metallurgy. The silver variants are the scarcest — HK-860a was limited to just 35 pieces — while copper and white metal examples are the most commonly encountered. The Perseverando varieties include date variants (May 10th, Nov. 29th, April 11th) corresponding to specific Continental Congress currency emissions, and only 50 copper HK-864 examples were struck. The HK numbering system groups so-called dollars broadly by type: exposition and commemorative pieces in the lower numbers, with monetary, miscellaneous, and later additions in higher ranges. Lettered suffixes (a, b, c, d) typically indicate variant compositions or die states of the same basic design, while entries above HK-900 include pieces added in later catalog supplements.

Rarity Notes

Confederation Dollar variants in the HK-858 through HK-866 range survive in moderate numbers. White metal examples tend to be scarcer than copper versions. These pieces attract interest from collectors of both so-called dollars and early American coinage reproductions.

Cross References

HK-866; PCGS #643641