1792 50C Washington Getz Pattern Half Dollar, Small Eagle, Silver SP10 PCGS. Baker-24, W-10780, Musante GW-22, R.7....

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1792 Washington Getz Half Dollar in Silver, SP10
W-10780, Musante GW-22
Impressive Provenance

1792 50C Washington Getz Pattern Half Dollar, Small Eagle, Silver SP10 PCGS. Baker-24, W-10780, Musante GW-22, R.7. Ex: Hilles Family - Sydney F. Martin Collection. 33.5 mm. 203.9 grains. The edge is worn with some evidence of ornamentation. The host coin would likely be a Spanish 4 reales, which John Kraljevich has suggested, or a French ½ ecu, per George Fuld's roster, where this is the 19th piece listed. The eponymous Getz patterns were struck by Peter Getz of Lancaster, Pennsylvania and modeled after the 1791 Washington coppers that originated in Birmingham. Neil Musante (2016) describes the coins as "quasi-official" in nature, having been proposed (and rejected) as an experimental design for a new American coinage. He estimates that about 60 pieces exist in copper plus 20 or so in silver.

Silver-gray surfaces are well-worn from having been carried as a pocket piece, apparently by its original owner during the 1790s, according to Kraljevich's 2022 write-up. The strike was marginally off-center toward 12 o'clock, with resulting weakness on each side. Still, the legends remain fully readable and interior design detail is entirely pleasing for the grade. A singular horizontal pinscratch below Washington's chin is the only distracting imperfection. Listed on page 80 of the 2024 Guide Book.
Ex: Eli Hilles of Wilmington, Delaware (1783-1863); Elizabeth Barker Hilles, daughter of Eli Hilles (1813-1907); Samuel Eli Hilles; Margaret Hilles Shearman (1883-1964), who offered this piece to Eric P. Newman in 1955; unnamed descendant of the Hilles family; Herman Halpern Collection (Bowers and Merena, 3/1995), lot 3373; Lawrence R. Stack Collection (11/2006); Sydney F. Martin Collection (Stack's Bowers, 10/2022), lot 2022.
From The Del Mar Collection.

Coin Index Numbers: (PCGS# 925, Greysheet# 260)

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