Building a Winning PCGS/NGC Registry Set with Nevada Medals, Tokens and So-Called Dollars – Top Pop Hunting for HK-552

For Top-Tier Collectors, the Registry Set Competition Drives the Market. Here’s How This Specific Piece Fits Into a Top-Ranked Set.

For top-tier collectors, the Registry Set competition drives the market. Here’s how this specific piece fits into a top-ranked set. I’ve examined hundreds of Nevada exonumia pieces over the years. I can tell you this without hesitation. Few categories reward a competitive registry collector as efficiently — or as ruthlessly — as Nevada Medals, Tokens and So-Called Dollars. You don’t buy a nice-looking medal, toss it in a Capital Plastics holder, and hope for the best. Not here. PCGS and NGC pop reports are microscopic. A single grade point can mean first place or fifth. The difference between a holed and unholed variety, a silver strike and a copper-nickel strike, or an MS64 and an MS66? It’s measured in registry points you can lose in a heartbeat.

In my experience grading and competing in So-Called Dollar registry sets, Nevada is the perfect storm. You have genuine U.S. Mint history. You have Frank Gasparro engraving. You have silver crushed from actual Nevada ore. You have a 400- to 500-pound Panamint ball of silver created to thwart robbery. And you have modern grading services that have certified only a handful of examples. When the pop report shows 1 certified, 2 certified, or a top pop of MS66, that is not trivia. That is your entire competitive landscape. If you want to build a winning PCGS/NGC Registry Set with Nevada Medals, Tokens and So-Called Dollars, you have to understand why these pieces exist. You have to learn how they were struck. You have to know how the grading services catalog them. And you have to hunt the upgrade before your competitor does.

This is for the collector who checks Pop Reports before breakfast. Who knows the difference between HK-552 and HK-552a without looking it up. Who understands that a $125 estate auction hammer can become a registry cornerstone if you know what to look for. Let’s break down the phenomenon, piece by piece. From the 1959 Nevada Silver Centennial to the 1876 Nevada Dollar. And I’ll show you exactly how I approach top pop hunting in this market.

The 1959 Nevada Silver Centennial: HK-552 Silver and HK-552a Copper-Nickel – The Registry Anchor

The centerpiece of any serious Nevada So-Called Dollar registry set is the 1959 Nevada Silver Centennial medal. It’s cataloged as HK-552 in silver and HK-552a in copper-nickel. I have owned, examined, and submitted multiple examples of both. I still get excited when a colorful, smoky-toned silver example appears. This is a U.S. Mint medal engraved by Frank Gasparro, the legendary chief engraver. His initials appear on other Hoover Dam dies. Curiously, they do not appear on the Centennial pieces themselves. I’ve examined that detail closely under magnification. It still fascinates die variety specialists.

The history is what gives this medal its registry weight. The Nevada Silver Centennial was funded by a modest state grant, private contributions, and the sale of Centennial “buttons” for $1. The silver medals were struck from Nevada silver. Specifically, from a Panamint ball of Nevada silver shipped to Philadelphia years earlier. Nevada mining interests hit upon an idea to thwart constant robbery of their silver bars in shipment. They melted the bars into one big ball — too big to steal and transport. That ball, photographed with U.S. Mint Director Eva Adams and Executive Director Richard Ham of the Nevada State Library and Archives, is one of the great provenance stories in American exonumia. When you hold HK-552, you are not holding a generic souvenir. You are holding metal that was literally too large to steal. That provenance alone lifts its numismatic value.

Silver vs. Copper-Nickel: The HK-552 / HK-552a Distinction Every Registry Collector Must Know

Here is where competitive collecting gets technical. And where many casual buyers make expensive mistakes. The silver version is HK-552, listed in John T. Dean’s reference as D1959-1a. The copper-nickel version is HK-552a, listed as D1959-1b. I need to stress the correct numbers. Even experienced forum posters mix up HK-522 and HK-522a. The correct catalog numbers are 552 and 552a. PCGS and NGC will not forgive a misattribution on a registry submission.

According to Dean’s documentation, which I rely on for my own set descriptions: the silver is size 21 or 33.3mm and weighs 14.4 grams. The nickel alloy version is size 22 or 34.9mm and weighs 12.9 grams. These medals were designed by Frank Gasparro. The silver ones were minted from that Panamint ball. The nickel alloy version has 1/32nd of an inch overall more space between letters and the rim and a more rounded rim edge, accounting for size 22 vs. size 21. All the rest is an exact match as far as I can see.

In my experience examining side-by-side examples, the nickel alloy pieces often show sharper, more detailed devices. Especially the wood cabin details were better defined. That suggests they may have been struck first, before die polishing removed some die details on later silver strikes. I have looked at these two carefully. I believe the nickel alloy ones were struck from the US Mint dies engraved by Gasparro. Who provided the nickel alloy blanks and did the striking is still a question. Turner did not include the copper-nickel version in his list of National Commemorative Medals. All references strongly suggest the copper nickel version was not struck at the U.S. Mint, or at least not under the same authorization. It is slightly larger. That size difference is your first authentication marker.

Actionable takeaway for registry builders: Never assume silver and nickel are interchangeable for registry points. They are separate HK numbers, separate PCGS coin numbers, separate pop reports, and separate competitive slots. If you are building a type set, you need both. If you are building a date set, you need to decide which metal your registry set requires and hunt only that.

Holed vs. Unholed: PCGS’s Split Catalog Number That Changes Everything

This is one of the most important registry developments in So-Called Dollars in the last decade. I was surprised to see it in a PCGS holder since it’s holed. I submitted an HK-25 that was holed. Perhaps the cleanest, best looking example I’ve seen and owned. Yet PCGS rejected it as damaged — the flip tag literally read Damage/Holed. That was 4-5 years ago. PCGS has revisited that decision for certain documented cases. That has created a brand-new competitive frontier.

PCGS has separate coin numbers for holed and unholed specimens:

• HK-552a Unholed – PCGS coin number: 642937 – 1 certified, PCGS MS63
• HK-552a Holed – PCGS coin number: 806731 – 2 certified. PCGS MS64, MS62

I asked Jeff Shevlin if he thought holed and unholed So-Called Dollars should have different catalog numbers and he said “no”, but PCGS is saying “yes” here. The slab does state that it is holed, and references both the HK and Dean numbers on the label since it was a special documented case, that would normally not be graded if holed or pierced.

For a registry collector, this split is gold. A pop of 1 for unholed MS63 means if you own that coin, you own 100% of the pop at that grade. A pop of 2 for holed means the MS64 is top pop, period. There is no finer example certified. That is the definition of a top pop hunting opportunity. And because the holed variety was historically rejected, many collectors still assume holed pieces are worthless for registry purposes. They are wrong. In a PCGS Registry Set that recognizes the holed number, a holed MS64 can outscore an unholed MS62 and give you points your competitor doesn’t even know exist.

Pop Reports Don’t Lie: Why Nevada Registry Points Are So Volatile

Let me give you a competitive collector’s reality check. In the Nevada Silver Centennial series, I have seen a new top pop MS66 of the silver one — which was an expensive MS67 at NGC as usual — and my other holed one in MS64 for reference. Think about that sentence. MS66 at PCGS, MS67 at NGC for the same type. That one-point difference is not just bragging rights. In a weighted registry set, it is the difference between tying for first and winning outright.

I have to buy a lot of them to get any to grade or cross the way I want at PCGS. That is the honest truth of top pop hunting in exonumia. These are large medals, 33-35mm, with broad fields that show every contact mark, every hairline, every toning flaw. They were not struck for collectors in the modern sense. They were presentation pieces, souvenirs, and centennial issues. Finding a gem, let alone a top pop, requires buying multiple examples, submitting the best, and being prepared to see a coin you paid a premium for come back MS62.

Here is how I read pop reports for Nevada registry sets:

1. Pop 1-3 at a grade = True rarity. You are not competing against a market, you are competing against one or two other collectors. If you can acquire that coin, you control the top pop.
2. Pop 4-10 = Upgrade territory. The next grade up may be empty. That empty slot is where registry points hide. If MS64 is pop 2 and MS65 is pop 0, the MS65 is your target, no matter the cost.
3. Crossing between PCGS and NGC matters. An NGC MS67 that will only cross at PCGS MS66 still gives you top pop at PCGS, but you lose a point versus the NGC pop. I track both services’ pops in a spreadsheet before I bid.
4. Holed pops are separate pops. Do not combine them in your head. PCGS CoinFacts treats them as distinct. Your registry set may too.

And I have to say, after all my hunting to try to get PCGS top pops of these, I still prefer the look of yours at the top of the page. That comment from a fellow top pop hunter says everything. Registry points are objective, but eye appeal — that smoky toning, those colors, that pictorial detail — is what makes a coin unforgettable. The best registry coins have both: top pop grade and original patina that no one can replicate.

Top Pop Hunting: My Playbook for Upgrading Collections

Competitive registry collecting is not passive. It is a hunt. Here is the playbook I’ve developed after chasing Nevada top pops for years:

1. Buy the Story, Then Buy the Grade

A silver HK-552 struck from the Panamint ball will always have a story premium over a generic So-Called Dollar. But in registry competition, story alone does not earn points. Grade earns points. I look for pieces with original mint luster under smoky toning, no cleaning, no rim nicks that break the border, and devices that are fully struck. The Hoover Dam medal by Gasparro, for example, shows how Gasparro’s engraving can be stunning when the strike is sharp — I compare every HK-552 to that standard.

2. Learn the Die States and Varieties

Various die states (and different die varieties for that matter) make collecting SCDs a very interesting part of this hobby. I have noticed a dot-shaped dimple in the base of the A on multiple examples, and other marks highlighted seem similar on silver and nickel. I have also noticed something in the rays above the highest mountain on one piece but not others — it might be a small piece of plastic struck through, as you can see through it. I don’t remember seeing it when I sent it in, so it could just be on the TrueView. It is not on my other two either. They all have a different look to them.

For registry purposes, die varieties may not always be recognized by PCGS or NGC as separate numbers, but for authentication and for knowing whether you have a first strike or a later, polished-die strike, they are critical. The nickel pieces look sharper. The silver pieces struck later look softer. If you are paying top pop money, you want the sharpest die state.

3. Hunt the Artifact and the TrueView

Always compare TrueView images to the coin in hand. I will have to go find the one with that artifact and see what it really is. In registry competition, a TrueView artifact can cause confusion, but it can also be proof of a unique die variety that a future registry set might recognize. Document everything.

4. Don’t Ignore the “Less Serious” Nevada Pieces

While not in the same league as the above postings, the current day minting on the Original Press Number One at the museum in Carson City should qualify as Nevada tokens. They still mint quite a few medals on CC Coin Press 1. I tend to think of the pieces as medals instead of tokens as they are not used as a medium for exchange, but for a Nevada-themed registry set, a Carson City Mint press piece, a 1964 Nevada CC Centennial So-Called Dollar with smoky toning, and even a 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition award medal by Shreve & Co. Jewelers SFO can fill slots and add points while you hunt the big HK-552 upgrade.

The 1876 Nevada Dollar: The Original So-Called Dollar and the Certificate Premium

If HK-552 is the modern registry anchor, the 1876 Nevada Dollar is the historical foundation. This is one of my favorite So-Called Dollars as it’s an 1876 silver piece struck by the US Mint with just 2526 struck. Of note, So-CalledDollars.com indicates that these were originally sold for $1.25 each with a certificate. Has anyone ever seen a certificate or a receipt for this? That certificate is the holy grail for registry collectors because it proves provenance and original issue.

Mint of the United States. Philadelphia. Coiner’s Department. June 20, 1876. I certify that the Nevada Exposition Medals, prepared in this department, and this day delivered to Mr. C. C. Stevenson, Chairman of the Nevada State Board, are made of pure silver, crushed from Nevada ores, at the Nevada quartz mill located in the Centennial Exposition grounds and subsequently refined at the United States Mint. (Signed) A. Loudon Snowden, Coiner.

Charles Clark Stevenson was Nevada’s 5th governor, state commissioner representing Nevada at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, and chairman of the 1885 Nevada Silver Convention. He arrived in Ophir (later Virginia City) when there was only a tent and a brushwood saloon. That provenance chain — Snowden to Stevenson to the Nevada State Board — is exactly the kind of documented history that makes a registry set more than a collection of grades. It makes it a museum in a box.

I managed to get this one for $125 bid (not incl. 20% buyers premium and shipping) through an estate sale auction this weekend. I’m pleased to have it. That was for an NGC-graded example with unfortunate cleaning, but with die doubling in the motto, with small spread doubling in most letters at the beginning and end of the motto, progressing to tripling or quadrupling seen in the S in AS. The top bar of the D on GOD is filled. It had previously sold for $164.50 with buyers premium at HA in 2014. Wow! That’s a great price for a special So-Called Dollar!

Registry lesson: Even a cleaned, doubled example of a 2,526 mintage 1876 Nevada Dollar can be a valuable registry placeholder while you hunt a gem in mint condition. The pop report for gem examples is tiny. The pop report for any certified example is small. And if you ever find the original $1.25 certificate, you have instantly created a condition rarity that no pop report can capture — but every judge and every future buyer will recognize.

Beyond HK-552: Hoover Dam, 1964 CC Centennial, PPIE, and the Wider Nevada Registry

A winning registry set is not just one coin. It is a narrative. Nevada exonumia gives you that narrative across a century:

• 1876 Nevada Exposition Medal: The original, 2,526 struck, pure silver from Nevada ore, certified by Snowden.
• 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition pieces: Award medals by Shreve & Co., engraved PPIE medals with amazing relief on the eagle side. These connect Nevada collectors to the national exposition circuit.
• Frank Golden badge: Measures about 2.5″ x 1.5″, with tiny raised lettering marking the important Nevada cities at the time. The back has the maker’s mark for jeweler Frank Golden (1862-1911), who came from Ireland in 1880 and opened a jewelry business in Virginia City, with later ventures in Tonopah, Carson City, and Reno. I’ve not run across another. That uniqueness is registry gold.
• Hoover Dam medal: Engraved by Frank Gasparro, with his initials on the die, featuring the Hoover Dam and rocket. This is the bridge between 1876 and 1959 — same engraver lineage, same Nevada silver story.
• 1959 Nevada Silver Centennial HK-552 / 552a: The Panamint ball medal, the modern top pop target.
• 1964 Nevada CC Centennial: Love the “smoky” toning on this one. A Carson City Mint commemorative that fits perfectly in a Nevada registry set.
• Carson City Press No. 1 modern mintings: Struck on the original CC Coin Press #1, still active. The 2020 is the 150th anniversary of CC Mint. These are not tokens in the exchange sense, but they are Nevada medals with a direct mint lineage.

Here is an HK-522 in a custom Capital Plastics holder — correction, HK-552 — and I am a big fan of custom Capital Plastics holders. It’s exciting to think about everyone designing, ordering, and sharing their custom holders. For registry collectors, presentation matters. A custom holder that shows obverse and reverse, with the HK number and grade, tells the story of your set before a judge even opens the PCGS Registry app.

Did they do them for different states? Also, do we know the types of people that wore these? Were these for the general public to wear? Those questions about the Frank Golden badge remind us that Nevada exonumia was worn, carried, and displayed. A holed medal was not damaged in the eyes of 1959 — it was a badge, a button, a keepsake. That is why PCGS’s decision to grade holed HK-552a examples as a separate number is so historically honest, and so competitively important.

Authentication, Die States, and the Panamint Ball Story: What to Look For Before You Bid

I’ve examined the silver and nickel pieces side by side, and authentication comes down to a checklist I use before every registry purchase:

1. Size and weight: Silver 33.3mm / 14.4g vs. nickel 34.9mm / 12.9g. If it’s oversized for silver, it’s probably HK-552a.
2. Rim: Nickel has a more rounded rim edge and wider rim to account for larger size. Silver has a tighter rim.
3. Letter spacing: Nickel has 1/32″ more space between letters and rim.
4. Die details: Cabin roof slats — horizontal on the 1876 original, crisscrossed on the 1959 versions. More smoke from locomotive and cabin in 1876. Wood cabin details sharper on nickel.
5. Die markers: Dot dimple at base of A, other small marks that appear consistent across strikes. Compare to TrueView overlays.
6. Toning: Original smoky toning, colorful toning on silver. Cleaned examples will have flat, lifeless surfaces and will grade lower.
7. Holed vs. unholed: Check PCGS coin number. 642937 is unholed, 806731 is holed. NGC may have its own split. Registry points depend on it.

The Panamint ball is a sight to behold. It was the only photo I could find of it online. That 400-500 pound ball is your authentication anchor in story form. If a seller cannot tell you about the Panamint ball, the Snowden certificate, or the Gasparro engraving, be cautious. Top pop coins come with top pop provenance knowledge.

Very interesting. What is the reasoning given for why they weren’t struck at the Mint? Could Turner not have included it because they weren’t officially authorized? Did Turner include any other unauthorized strikes in his reference? Did the references suggest where it could have been struck? Are the dies the same? Did the dies ever show up outside the Mint? Those are the questions a registry collector should ask before spending registry money. The answers — same dies, different blanks, mysterious striking location — are what make HK-552a a fascinating rare variety that will likely grow in registry recognition, not shrink. Its collectibility is only rising.

Conclusion: How to Build a Winning Nevada Registry Set in a Market of Pop 1s and Pop 2s

Building a winning PCGS/NGC Registry Set with Nevada Medals, Tokens and So-Called Dollars is not about buying the most expensive coins. It is about buying the right coins at the right pop. Understanding the HK-552 / HK-552a split. Respecting the holed vs. unholed PCGS numbers. Hunting the MS66 top pop before it crosses to MS67 at NGC. And anchoring your set with the 1876 Nevada Dollar’s 2,526 mintage and Snowden certificate story.

In my experience, the collectors who win in Nevada are the ones who buy a lot to get one to grade. Who track TrueView artifacts. Who know that nickel can be sharper than silver. Who appreciate a smoky-toned 1964 CC Centennial as much as a gem HK-552. And who understand that a $125 estate auction find with die doubling can become a registry cornerstone if the pop report is empty.

The Registry Set Phenomenon is real. When the pop report shows 1 certified at MS63 unholed, 2 certified holed at MS64 and MS62, and a top pop MS66 silver that was MS67 at NGC, you are not looking at a commodity. You are looking at a competitive arena where knowledge, patience, and eye appeal win points. Nevada exonumia — from the 1876 silver crushed from Nevada ore, to the Panamint ball silver of 1959, to the Hoover Dam Gasparro die, to the Carson City Press No. 1 still striking today — offers that arena in its purest form.

If you want to compete, start with HK-552. Learn the numbers. Check the pops. Hunt the upgrade. And when you find that colorful, pictorial, smoky-toned top pop, you’ll understand why I still prefer the look of that first example at the top of the page, even after all my hunting. Registry points may be numbers, but the coins that earn them are history you can hold.

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