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Medal, 1897, BR, TENNESSEE CENTENNIAL EXPO DOLLAR, Nashville, TN, So Called Dollar HK-274 Brass, NGC MS64, Cert# 2614269-001. Obv. Tennessee / Centennial / Exposition / Nashville / 1897; Rev. Edifice; above, around United States Mint; below edifice Philadelphia. Comment: Purpose: To celebrate 100th anniversary of Statehood; to "advertise and develop" Tennessee's resources…"to attract business and increase population." Organization: Centennial Exposition Co. chartered July 1894, public subscription to $300,000 stock. City granted $100,000; county and state $50,000 each; Congress $100,000. Site, Dates, Attendance: About 180 acres in Centennial Park; still city park. Held May 1-Oct. 30, 1897; attendance over 1,600,000, perhaps half paid. Participants: 18 states and territories, Canada and 15 foreign countries; a "few" erecting own buildings. Industrial exhibits numbered "several thousand"; Federal displays included Mint Exhibit. Opening originally planned for June 1, 1896, exact Statehood anniversary but deferment necessary. Exposition emphasized state's leading industries of agriculture, lumber and mining. Electric lighting, then a novelty, used lavishly. Official medal struck in Mint exhibit on grounds. Size: 33mm. Attractive.