In his Oct. 10, 2016 Coin World Research
Desk column (published online September 25, 2016), David
Alexander discusses the significance of the So-Called
Dollars book while highlighting a medal celebrating the
sesquicentennial of the Louisiana Purchase. Be sure to read the
complete article. -Editor
Collecting of U.S. medals prior to the 1970s suffered from the
lack of comprehensive and reliable catalogs.
A key volume was issued by Coin & Currency Institute of New
York. The 156-page hard cover So-Called Dollars by
Californians Harold E. Hibler and Charles V. Kappen was released
in 1963.
The term “so-called dollars” was used in the 1950s by Richard
D. Kenney to describe medals of the approximate size of a U.S.
silver dollar. Hibler and Kappen vastly extended his listing and
boosted a distinct collecting area.
Neither author had the depth of knowledge really needed for
this ambitious book, but it became important simply because it
existed and filled an enormous gap. It presented whatever
information was at hand, publicizing hundreds of medals that
gained importance simply because Hibler and Kappen included them.
Many obscure events and mysteries were brought to light that
called for in-depth research.
Among these was HK-509, the 1953 Louisiana Purchase
Sesquicentennial medal, a 41.5-millimeter plain-edge piece struck
by the Adams Company for old-time St. Louis coin dealer Otto
Oddehon.
We now know that the Oddehon medals were also struck in
bronze, silverplate and brass. They really, if unknowingly,
commemorated the death of the world’s fair movement.
To read the complete article, see:
What links St. Louis numismatist Otto Oddehorn to the Louisiana
Purchase?
(www.coinworld.com/news/us-coins/2016/09/saint-louis-coin-dealer-issues-exposition-medal.html)
Wayne Homren, Editor
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