Collecting of U.S. medals prior to the 1970s suffered from thelack of comprehensive and reliable catalogs.

A key volume was issued by Coin & Currency Institute of NewYork. The 156-page hard cover So-Called Dollars byCalifornians Harold E. Hibler and Charles V. Kappen was releasedin 1963.

The term "so-called dollars" was used in the 1950s by RichardD. Kenney to describe medals of the approximate size of a U.S.silver dollar. Hibler and Kappen vastly extended his listing andboosted a distinct collecting area.

Neither author had the depth of knowledge really needed forthis ambitious book, but it became important simply because itexisted and filled an enormous gap. It presented whateverinformation was at hand, publicizing hundreds of medals thatgained importance simply because Hibler and Kappen included them.Many obscure events and mysteries were brought to light thatcalled for in-depth research.

Among these was HK-509, the 1953 Louisiana PurchaseSesquicentennial medal, a 41.5-millimeter plain-edge piece struckby the Adams Company for old-time St. Louis coin dealer OttoOddehon.

We now know that the Oddehon medals were also struck inbronze, silverplate and brass. They really, if unknowingly,commemorated the death of the world's fair movement.

To read the complete article, see:
What links St. Louis numismatist Otto Oddehorn to the LouisianaPurchase?(www.coinworld.com/news/us-coins/2016/09/saint-louis-coin-dealer-issues-exposition-medal.html)