1915-S $50 Panama-Pacific 50 Dollar Round MS62 PCGS....

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Lustrous MS62 Panama-Pacific Round Fifty Dollar

1915-S $50 Panama-Pacific 50 Dollar Round MS62 PCGS. The Panama-Pacific International Exposition, held in 1915 in San Francisco, was the product of many years of planning. New Orleans was the chief rival contending for the honor of hosting the expo, and it was four years before the expo started, in 1911, that President William Howard Taft named San Francisco as the host city.
While the "Panama" portion of the exposition is well-remembered today--a commemoration of the completion of the Panama Canal, linking for the first time the Eastern and Western Hemispheres--the "Pacific" portion of the name is sometimes forgotten. Of course the Panama Canal did join the Pacific with the Atlantic oceans, but the "Pacific" also referred to the 400th anniversary of the discovery of the Pacific Ocean by the navigator Vasco Nuñez de Balboa. The Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco ran from Feb. 20 through Dec. 4, 1915, on a 635-acre site near the present-day Marina, while the complementary but distinct Panama-California International Exposition in San Diego's 1,200-acre Balboa Park ran from March 9, 1915, until Jan. 1, 1917. The latter also touted San Diego's status as the first port of call for ships after their passage through the Panama Canal. Today Balboa Park in the latter city is the nation's largest urban cultural park, home to 15 major museums, performing arts venues, civic gardens, and the San Diego Zoo.
While the 1915-S Panama-Pacific commemorative coins are commonly associated only with the former (and due partly to their striking at the San Francisco Mint), the San Diego exposition has only so-called dollars to commemorate it, listed in the Hibler-Kappen reference as HK-426 through HK-434.
This example of the Panama-Pacific fifty dollar round commemorative displays wonderful luster radiating from the deep orange-gold-colored surfaces. This piece shows excellent eye appeal overall and there are few signs of visible contact. A couple of dark spots near the reverse rim, above the P in PANAMA, likely keep the coin from an even finer grade. A small reddish-colored area near the reverse rim at 6 o'clock appears to be an alloy spot.(Registry values: N7079)

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# BYLU, PCGS# 7451, GSID# 10215)

Metal: 90% Gold, 10% Copper
Weight: 83.59 grams
AGW: 2.41875oz
Mintage: 483

View Certification Details from PCGS