Month: September 2015

Souvenir of Hawaii: An Analysis of HK-722a (Also Known As 2M-390)

/ DrDarryl

The 1991 dated book Hawaiian Money Standard Catalog 2nd Edition by Medcalf & Russell assigns a catalog value of $20. There is no population or rarity assigned.

The 2008 dated book So-Called Dollar by Hibler and Kappen assigns a catalog value in the range of $75 to $300 in uncirculated grades. A population estimate is assigned between 21 to 75. This is a  R-6 using the Fuld rarity scale.

Both books fail to mention that two types of specimen are available: Intact and Holed. The holed version has the “49” drilled out.

NGC grading standards reflect that holed specimens will be assigned DETAILS grade. The current NGC population is 3 for intact specimens (1 @MS62 and 2@MS63).

The John Raymond So Called Dollar Tabulation reflects that there was no HK-722a identified as being sold through mail bid dealers and auctioneers from the years 1975 through 2000.

Recently, there was an intact HK-722a sold at eBay. The hammer price was $280. I would conservatively grade this medal MS60. However, this is an intact specimen making it even more desirable when comparing it to the current NGC population of 3. Recent eBay sale

I give a thumbs-up to the purchaser who picked up this intact “49” rarity.

Medal: U.S. Fleet Visits Hawaii in the Spring and Summer of 1925

/ DrDarryl

This an unlisted so called dollar (or medal) that was missed by Hibler and Kappen (and also by Medcalf & Russell).

Most collectors get confused thinking its an Australian medal/token.

This medal should be listed in the Hawaiian numismatic guidebooks.

As you can plainly see, this is a 1925 United States Fleet medal that identifies the location visits. Hawaii is listed on the right side on the obverse and in the center of the reverse..

Navy

The below article snippet was taken from The Hawaiian Annual for 1926, by Thos. G. Thrum. As the second paragraph states the significance of Hawaii to the U.S.

1925hawaii

The full article can be found at (click the first location bar (blue) to the right of the Google reader.

https://books.google.com/books?id=4I8LAAAAIAAJ&pg=RA4-PA152&dq=1925+U.S.+FLEET+VISIT+HAWAII+book&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAGoVChMIxKTx29mYyAIVhjo-Ch2rfgrR#v=onepage&q=1925%20U.S.%20FLEET%20VISIT%20HAWAII%20book&f=false

Part 2: I Really Did Ask a Legitimate Question and Got NGC Blow Back

/ DrDarryl

This is my unedited reply that is still being reviewed by the NGC Chat room monitors….

Thank you for your reply. However…

1) Medals shown are not a product of the Royal Hawaiian Mint. They are a product of Precious Medals Hawaii (PMH). PMH  has no affiliation with the Royal Hawaiian Mint. The PMH hallmark can be plainly seen on the bottom reverse (on both the gold and silver medals)

2) The 1980 American Numismatic Association clipping provides an accurate pedigree of the original manufacturer, Precious Medals Hawaii.

3) Medals struck by Precious Medals Hawaii have been previously graded/encapsulated by NGC so these medal are not setting a precedence of being the first.

4) As shown ( Ira & Larry Goldberg Auctioneers catalog dated September 7, 2009), two Precious Medals Hawaii gold medals were graded/encapsulated by NGC.

5)  I perceive a preferential treatment toward large auction houses in getting “esoteric” type medals graded/encapsulated with my example of the  Ira & Larry Goldberg Auctioneers catalog dated September 7, 2009. Is this true?

6) NGC does grade several Royal Hawaiian Mint issues as identified by their Krause numbers as indicated in their book title Unusual World Coins. Was this recently changed?

7) Several medals listed in the Medcalf & Russell book, Hawaiian Money Second Edition, are in fact Royal Hawaiian Mint issues. If not all items listed in the Medcalf & Russell book do not qualify to be graded/encapsulated, I recommend that you put a note on your webpage that states this fact.

8) Was my original question actually forwarded to a grader that specializes with medals from Hawaii?

9) As a non-paying NGC member (I’m using my ANA membership to get items encapsulated/graded)……

To be continued….

Robert Love and his Bakery

/ DrDarryl

Very interesting read (Love’s: A Century of One Family’s Enterprise). After reading this booklet (and a little more research), I have a rough idea of the time period of use for each of the  M&R “2TB-XX”tokens.

As an example, Silva’s Bakery (2TB-20) is identified in this 1910 newspaper (and they got a bad review).

Love’s Bakery was the 5th bakery in Hawaii.

The first commercial bakery in the islands was operated by Ah Mow (Chinese baker).

LOVES