So-Called Dollar Discussions

Forum Navigation
Please or Register to create posts and topics.

HK-728a is too small ?

Here is most of what I have thought about with regard to size. HK728a is listed in the second edition, but not the first edition. It could have been mentioned and described in the description of HK728, but in my view should not have been put in as a separate listing. There are a number of pieces in HK that fall between 32.5 and 33mm, so I guess those are OK because 1: some were listed in the first edition(HK362, 469, 470, 473, 474, 481, 678, 705), and 2: they can be rounded up to 33mm. The one piece that is the true exception in HK is HK353. It measures 32.2mm. The original authors probably slipped this one in because it is a US mint souvenir medal from a major worlds fair, and the worlds fair so called dollars were of course one of the core ideas for the original book. For this reason, I guess I agree with it?s inclusion. But unfortunately this left the door open for two other pieces that used the same obverse and reverse dies, HK364, and an unlisted one that uses the obverse die of HK353 with the reverse of HK364. These two pieces are also 32.2mm(and probably US mint made). Besides HK728a, there are also HK469a and HK474a that are undersized and that were included in the second edition but not the first. They were included because of their similarity to HK469 and HK474. Once again I think it would have perhaps been better to have added them to the description of HK469 and HK474, but not put them in as separate listings. Including 32mm pieces is a slippery slope for two reasons, 1:There are a lot of them, perhaps - I?m guessing here ? 30 to 40 times as many as there are pieces that measure near the upper limit at 46mm, and 2: they have been traditionally described as so called half dollars. Lastly, are there any other pieces besides HK353 that are under 32.5mm? Well unfortunately there is one that I measured(excluding the gold dollar size pieces of course), HK695 ? it measures 32.4mm. Ideally it probably should have not been included in HK. To most collectors, all of this size stuff may seem quibbling and nit picking, and certainly in an ideal world it should not make any difference if a medal is 32.4mm or 32.6mm. Personally in real life I am not much of a piddly rule follower, but on my socalleddollar.com website I have found that I have to try and be, otherwise things get messy rather quickly.

Axel Ulen has reacted to this post.
Axel Ulen

Spokane is clearly too small. I suspect 728a was added because of its similarity to 728 listed in the original HK.

While in the book, this 32mm so-called is smaller than the supposed required 33mm lower limit diameter.

Have you actually measured it? However, it appears to be one of those anomalies, it fits or if it doesn't and we include it, then it fits.

While in the book, this 32mm so-called is smaller than the supposed required 33mm lower limit diameter.

I've always wondered if this piece and the Spokane piece for AYPE 1909 had the same reverse rather identifying this piece at 1909 and AYPE. Since you've posted previously on the Spokane Day piece you can now answer this question.:::cool:

Spokane is clearly too small. I suspect 728a was added because of its similarity to 728 listed in the original HK.

The ledgers in the archive boxes in Ellensburg Washington for the Spokane Chamber of Commerce shows the Spokane Chamber of Commerce first commissioned these railroad maps dies from Childs of Chicago in 1897. I have no factual proof but I've always assumed that this small HK-728a so called was made in tandem with the Spokane Day token of the A.Y.P.E. and that on Spokane Day at the exposition the Chamber of Commerce set up a booth and handed out these smaller so calleds. I've always loosely dated the HK-728a as (1909). Requires a trip to Ellensburg to check the 1908-1909 ledgers for proof. The 1897 ledger is in the first of 44 boxes but no one knows which box the 1909 ledgers is in so won't help over the phone.

Quote from rjesinger on January 19, 2013, 8:31 am

While in the book, this 32mm so-called is smaller than the supposed required 33mm lower limit diameter.

 

Tongue-incheekedly, using your calculus for SCD size, AYPE Official Medals, HK-353-56, HK-360 and gold sized SCD's should be extracted from the So-called Dollar Guides because of size limitations? I feel the present "SCD" book is a book of petty size contradictions. So-Called Dollars are considered medals of a sliding sizes to fit certain tokens into the book...  My main SCD collection is the AYPE. As I've nearly completed this SCD collection I look for other medals/tokens representing  this Expo. to represent the city of the Expo, advertisers etc.

As a two bit, flea bitten SCD collector I hope a numismatic author/researcher catalogues the excluded medals and writes new book(s) on medals and tokens related to the expositions listed in both editions.

Your thoughts to my rant? Thanks!