Spotlight on So-Called Dollars

By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek …..
 

It is said that New York coin dealer Thomas Elder first coined the term “So-Called Dollar” to describe a medal sold at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition – an event better known as the St. Louis World’s Fair. Coin-like souvenirs such as that medal had been a staple at the many great expositions of the 19th and 20th centuries, telling the story of American industrial, technological, and cultural development.

Diverse in design and theme, So-Called Dollars were physical embodiments of the memories Americans would take from these spectacles. And as the age of the “Great American Expo” faded into the past, a growing sentiment for these souvenirs began to take shape. In 1963, their profile was greatly elevated with the publication of So-Called Dollars: An Illustrated Standard Catalog, written by Harold E. Hibler and Charles V. Kappen. Still the most comprehensive study of dollar-sized public and private medals and tokens, the reference volume carved out a niche for future collectors and created a new market for these collectibles.

To be considered a So-Called Dollar (and therefore warrant inclusion in the book), a medal had to meet minimal criteria set by Hibler and Kappen (HK): the pieces had to be struck in or for the United States; they had to measure between 33 and 45 mm; and they had to focus on national and regional celebrations or numismatic themes. The reference was updated in 2008 by four experts on So-Called Dollars: Tom Hoffman, Dave Hayes, Jonathan Brecher, and John Dean. We wholeheartedly recommend the purchase of this book, which can be found at socalleddollars.com.

Now that we’ve introduced the concept of the So-Called Dollar and its connection to American history, we’d like to use the next couple of columns to take a look at this field of exonumia, approaching the subject from the perspective of the collector of classic U.S. commemorative coins. The So-Called Dollar breathes new life into the classic commemorative series and places it in a wider context, as both a competitor for the consumer’s attention and the logical next step in the development of these numismatic souvenirs.

We’d like to acknowledge and thank Jeff Shevlin (the “So-Called Guy”) and Tom Hoffman for their scholarship and assistance in this project.

In this first part of our three-part feature on So-Called Dollars, we look at the similarities and differences in theme and composition of So-Called Dollars and their legal tender commemorative coin counterparts authorized and produced to commemorate America’s great expositions. Starting with the World’s Columbian Exposition held in Chicago (1892-93), and ending with the United States Sesquicentennial Exposition held in Philadelphia (1926), this period saw five publicly and privately funded events of national import. To defray the cost of these events, the United States Congress issued commemorative coins, while a variety of So-Called Dollars (some struck on site, some commissioned) were also sold at the expos.

World’s Columbian Exposition (1892-93: Chicago)

Government-issued coins focused on Columbus and Isabella, So-Called Dollars also celebrated architectural achievements, Ms. Potter-Palmer, the newly versatile aluminum alloy, and the child of the President and Mrs. Grover Cleveland.

The classic commemorative period began in 1892 with an Act of Congress authorizing the production of specially designed half dollars made with the likeness of Christopher Columbus. These were sold at $1 apiece, with the proceeds going to help fund the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois.

Seizing the opportunity for publicity, Wyckoff, Seamans, and Benedict, manufacturers of Remington typewriters, publicly offered $10,000 (around $256,500 in today’s dollars) for the first coin struck. This turned the actual striking of the coins into a media event. In an account of the festivities reprinted by Anthony Swiatek and Walter Breen, Chief Engraver Charles Barber and other Government and Exposition representatives were on hand to see Chief Coiner William Steele strike the famous first coin.

Unfortunately, due to a planchet flaw, it was rejected. The $10,000 specimen was struck successfully on the second try.^[1]

The Remington Company reveled in the publicity. Mainstream America saw the potential for financial gains through coin collecting. The Columbian Half Dollar sold well, although it did not meet its authorized mintage limit. A second coin struck for the exposition was the Isabella Quarter, the only quarter of the classic series, and a coin lobbied for and distributed by Bertha Palmer and the Board of Lady Managers. Coined from the reclaimed silver of obsolete coins, the quarter was considered a worse value than the half dollar as it was also offered at $1 each. A little more than half of the authorized mintage sold, making the Isabella one of the more coveted of the classic commemoratives.

Thus begins the story of the classic commemoratives. However, these two legal tender issues cannot possibly capture the event’s spirit like the more than 100 medals and tokens issued by the many different vendors and pavilions. These So-Called Dollars vary greatly in design and style and come in multiple compositions – including aluminum, a novelty at the time. Many celebrate the architectural beauty of the pavilions, including one designed by Louis Sullivan, a founding member of the Chicago School. Others depict Christopher Columbus.

Of great numismatic significance is the So-Called Dollar pictured below featuring a Beaux-Arts rendition of Columbus newly ashore in the New World. The obverse of this elegant piece, reproduced by Chicago pillow manufacturer C. Emmerich and Company, was designed by the great American artist Augustus Saint-Gaudens, and the reverse was created by Chief Engraver Charles Barber. It was struck at the Philadelphia Mint and would not be their last collaboration. The use of Roman numerals should catch the attention of collectors familiar with the first-year issue of the Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle.

Fans of the Isabella Quarter may also consider adding the Board of Lady Managers So-Called Dollar to their collections. This 38 mm piece was struck on aluminum and features Mrs. Bertha Honoré Palmer, Chicago socialite and wife of hotel magnate Potter Palmer. Her So-Called Dollar comes in two configurations: one with scalloped fan ornamentation in the field and one without. One assumes that these medals would have been sold together with the legal tender quarter. Fewer than 100 of each variety are known to have survived.

Nearly 50 So-Called Dollars celebrate the various buildings constructed for the Fair. Four pieces commemorated what many people considered the Exposition’s signature architectural achievement: the 264-foot-tall Ferris wheel. Named after its designer George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr., the Ferris wheel was America’s answer to the Eiffel Tower, built just four years before to serve as the centerpiece of the 1889 Paris Exposition.^[2]

Louisiana Purchase Exposition (1904: St. Louis, Missouri)

Jefferson and McKinley get the nod for the government-issued coins. So-Called Dollars focus on architecture, French rulers, and even recall the preceding Chicago fair.

Eleven years after the successful World’s Columbian Exposition, the great city of St. Louis celebrated the centennial of Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery Expedition by hosting the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, also known as the St. Louis World’s Fair. The Expo opened on April 30 and ran through December 1, 1904, drawing nearly 20 million visitors, a slight decline from the paid attendance of the World’s Columbian Exposition.

A great deal of folklore surrounds the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. Some say the waffle ice cream cone was invented for it, while others claim the event saw the birth of the hot dog and hamburger. These claims are likely dubious, but the popular soft drink Dr. Pepper made its mass-market debut here, along with puffed wheat breakfast cereal. Also, the common maxim “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” was first uttered by fruit researcher Dr. J.T. Stinson in a speech given in front of fairgoers.^[3]

The Exposition hosted the 1904 Olympic Games as well, the third Olympics of the modern era. In a contemporary context, it’s hard to imagine an Exposition dwarfing an international event such as the Olympics, but the movement was still in its infancy.

To fund the fair, Missouri guaranteed $1 million, while Congress authorized an additional $5 million. Congress again turned to the idea of producing commemorative coins as a way to offset the cost, this time authorizing two dime-sized commemorative gold dollars. One bore the likeness of Thomas Jefferson and the other featured the recently assassinated President William McKinley (who, incidentally, was shot by anarchist Leon Czolgosz at the Pan-American Exposition, which took place in Buffalo, New York from May to November of 1901). The choice to honor McKinley with a gold dollar was likely because McKinley had signed legislation authorizing the Louisiana Purchase Exposition.

(It’s also somewhat fitting that McKinley would be honored with a gold dollar as he pushed for and signed the Gold Standard Act of 1900, which ended American bimetallism.)

Unfortunately for event organizers and the Federal Government, the gold coin commemorative program was a total failure. One hundred and twenty-five thousand of each coin were authorized but only 17,500 of each were sold, bringing in just over $100,000 before expenses were taken out. Several tie-ins were tried to move the coins, including a stamp and a “gold souvenir” token set offered by noted numismatist Farran Zerbe.^[4] Many of the coins were sold only because they were infused into non-numismatic products, such as jewelry and stickpins – which ruined many of the coins accounted for in the final distribution totals.

The event also saw a decline in the number of So-Called Dollars offered. Nearly all of these were available to fair-goers at a fraction of the cost of the two gold dollars. Perhaps this accounts for the surprising lack of interest in the gold coins, or maybe there were more interesting tchotchkes available at the fair’s many shops.

For those interested in purchasing medals, there was an official souvenir medal featuring the busts of President Jefferson and French Emperor Napoleon, left-facing and in jugate, along with the inscription LOUISIANA PURCHASE EXPOSITION – OFFICIAL SOUVENIR. The medal’s reverse depicts a map of the present-day United States with the land apportioned in the purchase in raised relief along with the inscription LOUISIANA TERRITORY 1803, 1,000,000 SQUARE MILES – $15,000,000, ST LOUIS 1904.

This medal was struck on the grounds at the Mint Exhibit, using machinery that was to be shipped to the newly established Denver Mint after the fair.

The Jefferson/Napoleon medal was sold in a number of metal configurations, the rarest being a single medal struck in gold. A medal struck in a quickly tarnishing yellow-bronze was offered for 25 cents, and a .600 fine silver alloy medal was offered for $1.00 to $1.25.^[5]

Despite the prominence of the official medal, many souvenir-seekers wound up with a handsome but unofficial piece featuring the likeness of Saint Louis IX (1214-70), the French monarch after whom the city was named. These serial-numbered medals may have looked official – after all, there was that serial number, and the obverse said SOUVENIR COIN OF ADMISSION – but the “coins” were the product of a shadowy group calling themselves the Louisiana Purchase Souvenir Coin Company. Buyers of Hibler and Kappen’s book will be treated to an amusing anecdote about the marketing strategy this group employed to sell the coin as well as the “official” reaction to their scheme.

Controversy aside, the largest portion of So-Called Dollars from St. Louis focused on the many fantastic temporary structures that made up the fairgrounds. Most of these medals were struck in aluminum and feature perspectives of the different buildings with identifying inscriptions written in the exergue. The U.S. Government Building (shown in the black and white photograph above) is featured on So-Called Dollar HK-322e.

The Louisiana Purchase Exposition would be the final fair where So-Called Dollars would emphasize architecture. This could have something to do with the period. The 1890s to early 1900s was a critical time in American architecture, seeing not only the advent of the skyscraper, the prominence of the Chicago School, and the ascension of Frank Lloyd Wright, but also the beginning of a new era in urban design that would make the bombastically ornamental palaces of the early fairs seem outmoded and unworthy of special commemoration. Or perhaps the pieces weren’t all that profitable for fair organizers. It’s hard to know for sure.

For commemorative collectors, the Louisiana Purchase Exposition offers the challenge of putting together a complete set of fair-related So-Called Dollars. Several issues, including one featuring President Theodore Roosevelt, are quite rare. The official medal makes a great accompaniment to the Jefferson Gold Dollar, and the Pax So-Called Dollar (HK-314), which references the World’s Columbian Exposition on the reverse, features a ship motif that bears a striking resemblance to the reverse of the Columbian Half Dollars of 1892-1893.

Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition (1905: Portland, Oregon)

An alignment of coin and medal themes marks this regional celebration.

Continuing with the Louisiana Purchase theme was a fair held in Oregon in 1905, the site of the completion of the Corps of Discovery journey across the Louisiana and Oregon territories. The Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition was held in Portland, Oregon, and was decidedly low-key compared to the St. Louis fair held the year before. This was intentional.

Congress authorized the Exposition and the minting of 250,000 gold dollars honoring Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to pay for the event in an Act of Congress passed on April 13, 1904.^[6] Charles Barber designed the coins, the only ones minted by the United States to feature a head on both sides; numismatist Don Taxay believed that Barber modeled the two explorers’ likenesses from a painting by Charles Wilson Peale.^[7]

Issued in 1904 and 1905, the coins were first offered for sale at $3.00 each, but well-connected dealers offered the coins for less through The Numismatist and direct mail catalogs. Ultimately, the public was unmoved, and only a few more than 10,000 dollars from each date sold, which was slightly over 8% of the authorized mintage. Because of this, the Lewis and Clark Exposition Dollars are highly prized.

As far as So-Called Dollar output is concerned, the fair produced only a handful. The one pictured below features Columbia, a personification of the United States, arms spread out and walking in-between figures representing Lewis and Clark, and is perhaps the most striking. The inscription on the reverse (WESTWARD THE COURSE OF EMPIRE TAKES ITS WAY) is most telling of the national sentiment concerning Manifest Destiny and America’s philosophical slide into Imperialism.

The remaining medals from this event riff on the same design, one which features jugate portraiture of Lewis and Clark on the obverse with the inscription LEWIS AND CLARK CENTENNIAL EXPOSITION (some have the date 1905, others do not), and a reverse that highlights the U.S. Government Building constructed for the fair. One variation features the Washington State Building.

It is estimated that between 1.6 and 2.5 million visitors attended the fair. Despite being dwarfed by other fairs of the period and failing to sell through its authorized allotment of gold coins, the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition did turn a profit.

For collectors of the Lewis and Clark commemorative gold coins, the exposition offers a manageable array of accessible So-Called Dollars to round out their collections.

Panama-Pacific Exposition (1915: San Francisco, California)

California went big for this celebration, and the number of So-Called Dollars declines from its late 19th-century heights. The mythological and beautiful make Pan-Pac So-Called Dollars the most dramatic and interesting.

Not even 10 years after a major earthquake devastated the city, killing upwards of 3,000 people and forcing the largely undamaged San Francisco Mint to become an emergency shelter, residents and the state of California used the completion of the Panama Canal and the 400th Anniversary of the “discovery” of the Pacific Ocean by Vasco Núñez de Balboa (even though the logical date would have been 1913) to host the Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915.

For numismatists, the Panama-Pacific Exposition five-coin commemorative set ranks as one of the most visually arresting and desirable U.S. special-issue coins. Blending classical motifs with an eroticism that was one hallmark of the Art Nouveau period, the Pan-Pac Half Dollar, Quarter Eagle, and $50 slugs are among the most beautiful commemorative coins in U.S. history, and for contemporary collectors, among the most desirable.

Luckily for collectors, the event’s many privately and publicly issued medals rival the commemorative coins in terms of design. As the last big Exposition of the So-Called Dollar era, the Panama-Pacific International Exposition marks the end of the souvenir medal bonanza that started in Chicago. The Expo saw the release of 27 So-Called Dollar designs in various configurations, many approaching the pinnacle of American medallic art.

The Panama-Pacific International Exposition’s official medal (pictured below) was authorized by Congress and struck using Mint equipment onsite. The piece was designed by Robert Aitken, the artist behind the Pan-Pac $50 coins. It features a semi-nude winged Mercury (coincidentally released a year before the Winged Liberty dime), caduceus in hand, opening the Panama Canal’s locks. To his side, the ship Argo passes through. In the exergue, the inscription reads ON! SAIL ON!

The medal’s reverse features two female figures representing Earth’s two hemispheres, intertwined, cornucopias in hand (this same “land of plenty” motif was carried forth in the commemorative half dollar design). Aitken, who also designed the two $50 slugs, sticks with the classical mythological theme. The caduceus appears on the commemorative quarter eagle, designed by Barber and Morgan. Columbia is holding it while astride the back of a hippocampus.

Also of note is HK-404, featuring the headless Winged Victory of Samothrace standing atop a ship, passing through the Canal. On the reverse is an indigenous Panamanian watching a ship steaming along the waterway, a mountainous scene in the distance. Of minor note, the motto IN GOD WE TRUST appears at the bottom of the Florida Exposition medal, the first such instance where the motto appears on a So-Called Dollar.

HK-405, another beautiful piece, features a female figure inspired by French sculptor Oscar Roty’s The Sower, carrying a cornucopia as she walks toward the sunrise. This So-Called Dollar was commissioned by the State of Georgia. This piece, along with Aitken’s official medal, are logical complements to the Pan-Pac Half Dollar.

The striking Exposition City Dollar, perhaps the most erotic of the So-Called Dollars, is also a likely complement to the Pan-Pac Half Dollar. Depicted on the obverse are the many structures built for the fair. The reverse features two nude females laying a wreath across the Panama Canal. The 1923 Monroe Doctrine Centennial Half Dollar revisits this theme but instead uses female figures to form the shapes of the two American continents.

Several faux-gold pieces were struck in the form of California territorial gold. A few variations on the octagonal piece pictured above contain the motto IN GOD WE TRUST. The above piece has the curious inscription OOO THOU in its place. Hibler and Kappen note that these pieces were struck by a company called Irvine and Jachens of nearby Daly City, California.^[8]

Of all of the major Expos, the Panama-Pacific International Exposition boasts the finest commemorative coins and the most beautiful and diverse assortment of So-Called Dollars. While the extremely-low-mintage $50 gold pieces are out of reach for most collectors, many of this event’s So-Called Dollars are approachable. Putting together a complete set, however, will pose quite a challenge.

U.S. Sesquicentennial Exposition (1926), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Marking an end to a period of coins struck for great national expositions, this Pennsylvania affair disappointed at the box office and in the selection of medals.

The U.S. Sesquicentennial Exposition of 1926 was a disaster on many levels.

Held as a celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the fair met with immediate controversy over budget cuts and the sudden retirement or unexpected death of senior officials. The event failed to draw sufficient crowds to cover costs and the Exposition’s organizing company went bankrupt.

Despite the tumultuous start of the fair and its sad ending, it featured a brilliant display of electric lights and a title bout between boxers Gene Tunney and Jack Dempsey. Tunney outlasted Dempsey for 10 rain-soaked rounds and won the World Heavyweight Title. Dempsey, one of the greatest fighters of the 20th century, would never reclaim his belt.

To defray the costs of the fair, Congress authorized the production of a commemorative half dollar and quarter eagle. The authorizing legislation dated March 3, 1925, mandated the striking of no more than one million half dollars and no more than 200,000 gold quarter eagles. Sales of the coins proved to be just as disappointing as ticket sales to the exposition, with 85% of the struck half dollars and 77% of the quarter eagles returned to the Mint for melting (as the fair was held in Philadelphia, it was a short trip).

In addition to the coins, four So-Called Dollar designs were manufactured and sold at the Exposition. An official medal (pictured below) was struck at a Mint exhibit on grounds with Mint equipment.

The official medal was designed by Albin Polasek, a noted Czech-American sculptor whose work married the Beaux-Arts style with an erotic, askew naturalism. The Pegasus on the reverse of the medal is a tame motif, more representative of his style than the staid, inscription-heavy obverse.

The State of Connecticut issued a medal in silver, bronze, and gold. Mint Engraver Adam Pietz designed a So-Called Dollar that features a beautiful female head on the obverse as well as an eagle with a swastika covering its breast on the reverse (more on this in Part Three). Pietz would see only one of his coin designs utilized 20 years later in the form of the Iowa Centennial Half Dollar.

Wrapping up the Expo’s So-Called Dollars is a piece commemorating the Medal of Honor. The obverse features a wreath; the reverse shows an eagle overlooking Independence Hall.

Examples of all of the coins and medals struck for the U.S. Sesquicentennial Exposition can be found without too much trouble. Silver and Gold versions of the Connecticut So-Called Dollar are particularly rare. The Pietz medal is interesting on several levels, especially for those who wish to add a companion piece to their Iowa Half Dollars.

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That wraps up Part 1 of our Spotlight on So-Called Dollars. In Part 2, we talk about other interesting pieces, focusing on unusual themes, symbols, events, and people, and further discuss the place of So-Called Dollars in American numismatics.

But before we go, we’d like to point out one very fascinating fact. All of the Expos we talked about in this article took place after the invention of the cinema. As a consequence, there is footage available to us today. Especially noteworthy is this film from the Panama-Pacific Expo:

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Notes

Many thanks to Jonathan Brecher, Tom Hoffman, John Dean, Robert Mayer, David King, and Fred Holabird for the use of their respective images.

[1] Swiatek, Anthony and Walter Breen. The Encyclopedia of United States Silver & Gold Commemorative Coins: 1892-1954. New York: Arco, 1981.

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferris_wheel

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._T._Stinson

[4] Swiatek, Anthony and Walter Breen. The Encyclopedia of United States Silver & Gold Commemorative Coins: 1892-1954. Arco: New York, 1981.

[5] Hibler, Harold E. and Charles V. Kappen. So-Called Dollars: An Illustrated Standard Catalog. New York. The Coin & Currency Institute, 2008.

[6] Swiatek and Breen. 131.

[7] Taxay, Don. An Illustrated History of U.S. Commemorative Coinage. New York: Arco, 1967.

[8] Hibler and Kappen, p. 79.

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