50 Cents, Pattern, United States, 1792
date: label: Date made
content: 1792
name: label: issuing authority
content: Getz, Peter
label: moneyer
content: Getz, Peter
label: obverse designer
content: Getz, Peter
label: reverse designer
content: Getz, Peter
label: maker
content: United States Mint
notes: label: Description
content: Produced by Peter Getz at a temporary mint in Philadelphia. Obverse: Bust of George Washington in uniform, date below. Reverse: Eagle, stars above. Peter Getz created the dies for these and several other pieces, basing his designs on two British copper proposals of 1791. The United States lacked a mint, and so the Getz pieces were struck in the coach house of John Harper, a metallurgical expert then resident in Philadelphia. Only a few specimens including this piece survive in silver. There are handful more in copper. The scheme for adopting this design came to naught when President Washington declined the honor of appearance on American coinage. Apparently, Washington preferred a depiction of Liberty on the national coinage rather than a portrait of himself.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place of issue
content: United States
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: National Numismatic Collection
label: See more items in
content: Coins, Currency and Medals
publisher: label: Related Publication
content: Glossary of Coins and Currency Terms
label: Related Web Publication
content: http://americanhistory.si.edu/coins/glossary.cfm
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Harvey and Lawrence Stack
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1993.0532.0002
label: catalog number
content: 1993.0532.0002
label: accession number
content: 1993.0532
label: catalog number
content: 93.532.02
objectType: label: Object Name
content: coin
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: silver (overall metal)
label: Physical Description
content: 0 (overall die axis)
label: Physical Description
content: 0 (overall die axis measurement)
label: Physical Description
content: struck (overall production method)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 35 mm; 1 3/8 in