The Silver Dollars of '60
United States So-Called Dollar, 1960

Owner Comments:

By stretching my set parameters to exonumia, I can include an example of a So-Called Dollar, dollar-sized medals struck to commemorate American themes. 1960 was the centenary of the Pony Express -- that brief experiment in hand delivered express mail -- and is the theme of this example. Congress authorized a Pony Express medal in bronze and silver, however at 33mm it does not meet my criteria as silver dollar sized. The example I chose for my set is one of the privately minted Pony Express medals. 500 of these were issued by Dr. Nolie Mumey of Denver; at 37mm and sterling silver, it nicely compliments the other coins in my set.

Although the Pony Express only operated for 19 months it established the fastest method of mail delivery between the East and West at the time -- 10 days from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California. The Westward extension of the telegraph and the advent of the Civil War ended the service in 1861.

Slabbed eBay purchase in January of 2016.