1792 GW-27 - Ider Getz "Copy" Half Dollar

Coin Details

Description

Produced in the 1860s by Philadelphia die-sinker Christopher Idler (frequently misspelled "Ider" in historical references) using original Peter Getz dies, this copy of the 1792 Washington Getz Pattern half dollar is cataloged as Baker 25C, Musante GW-27, and Whitman 10710. Idler acquired the original Getz dies — one of the most important survivals of early American coinage tooling — and produced restrikes in various metals during the Civil War era, when heightened patriotic sentiment and a growing collector base created strong demand for pieces connected to the founding period. The obverse features the WASHINGTON PRESIDENT legend surrounding Washington's draped bust, and the reverse displays a heraldic eagle. Peter Getz of Lancaster, Pennsylvania had originally cut these dies in 1792 as a speculative proposal for the new nation's half dollar denomination, competing with other pattern designs submitted during the Philadelphia Mint's formative year. Although Idler copies are more obtainable than original Getz strikings from the 1790s — which are of extreme rarity and command six-figure prices — they are nonetheless scarce in their own right and are valued both as products of the original dies and as documents of the mid-nineteenth-century restrike tradition. The Idler copies preserve die details that may have deteriorated between the 1790s and the 1860s, and comparing early Getz originals with later Idler copies provides valuable information about die wear and degradation over a seventy-year span of intermittent use.

Rarity Notes

Rare. Idler copies are scarce but more obtainable than Getz originals.

Cross References

Baker 25C; Musante GW-27; Whitman 10710