ERIE CANAL COMPLETION MEDAL: HK-1 PROFESSIONALLY GRADED "KEY DATE PIECE"

Description

You are acquiring the pictured Near Mint State example of the Hibler and Kappen listed HK-1 Erie Canal Completion Medal.
This is arguably the single-most important of the medals listed by Messers. Hibler and Kappen in their book titled "So-Called Dollars, and as it was struck in the year 1826, it is the OLDEST medal listed and one of the oldest American medals that is still realistically obtainable by the non-Institutional collector.
This alone would make this approx. 45mm White Metal Commemorative a significant object of Americana but what makes it even more interesting is the underlying reason for its creation:  The Erie Canal.
It's funny how the actual canal has drifted so far outside of our collective cultural radar as other forms of transportation than a hand-dug canal overtook its importance.
Ironically, it was the role that the canal played in opening up the Western United States that led to its diminution in importance.
Although it is difficult to imagine, the Erie Canal was the single most important engineering technology that led the the European spreading out and settling the rest of what is now the Lower 48, for it enabled the rapid transportation of goods of a size and quantity too large and numerous for the existing ground-based transportation network and it led the the Great Lakes which were the launching pad for the exploring the rest of the newly found New World.
This item has been professionally graded by the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation to be in "AU DETAILS" Environmental Damage.  As you can see from the pictures that this medal is either truly deserving of an AU Details grade OR an Unc Details grade, either way, this medal has Superior Eye Appeal to many, perhaps most others you will ever encounter.