1 Dollar - souvenir money Fairbanks Alaska Grades GEM+ Unc. This souvenir of Alaskan Statehood was issued by the Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce to commemorate forever the entry into the Union of the United States. The program, initially confined to Fairbanks, quickly spread to cover the entire State, and Golden Dollars were as good as gold in the "Red Dog" Saloon in Juneau as they were in "Gold-Rush" Saloon in the riverfront in Fairbanks, during 1959, the Statehood Year.Approximately 150,000 of these commemorative coins were put into circulation and were honored at any business establishment in Alaska. They were actually gold-plated in Alaskan Gold, and since their removal from circulation on 31 December 59, are a collector's item.This coin has gone down in history as the one and only coin issued to commemorate the granting of Statehood to Alaska, the 49th State of the Union.