1785 1/2P Washington - Large Stars Half Penny

Coin Details

Description

Cataloged as Crosby 2-C and Whitman 5655, this 1785 Confederatio copper is one of the most historically significant die combinations in all of colonial American numismatics, pairing a Washington portrait obverse with the large stars CONFEDERATIO reverse. The appearance of Washington's image on a coin as early as 1785 — seven years before the Mint Act and four years before his inauguration — documents that his portrait was already being considered for a national coinage while the Articles of Confederation still governed the loosely united states. The CONFEDERATIO reverse, with its large stars representing the member states of the confederation, expressed the political framework of the pre-Constitutional period when each state retained substantial sovereignty. The Washington portrait obverse die was shared with the broader Washington colonial series, but its combination with a Confederatio reverse creates a unique intersection of two experimental coinage programs that were being explored simultaneously by private manufacturers seeking government contracts. Extremely rare and representing one of the earliest coins to feature Washington's portrait, this piece occupies a position of exceptional historical importance — it bridges the gap between the colonial-era Washington tokens produced in England and the 1792 Washington pattern coins produced in connection with the newly established United States Mint. For collectors of early American coinage, the 1785 Washington-Confederatio muling ranks among the most desirable and significant pieces in the entire pre-federal series.

Rarity Notes

Extremely rare. One of the earliest coins to feature Washington's portrait.

Cross References

Crosby 2-C; Whitman 5655