1792 GW-27 - Idler Getz Copy Half Dollar

Coin Details

Description

Cataloged as Baker 25C, Musante GW-27, and Whitman 10710, this Idler copy of the 1792 Washington Getz Pattern half dollar was produced during the 1860s by Christopher C. Idler, a Philadelphia die sinker who acquired access to the original Getz dies or created faithful transfer copies to satisfy the growing collector demand for early American pattern coins. Peter Getz of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, had engraved the original pattern dies in 1792 as a proposal for the first United States half dollar coinage, featuring Washington's military bust on the obverse and a heraldic eagle on the reverse. Idler's copies are identifiable through differences in metal composition, strike characteristics, and subtle die details that distinguish them from the excessively rare original 1792 Getz strikings, which are among the most valuable of all American coins. Rare in their own right, Idler copies occupy a legitimate and valued position in American numismatics as documented 19th-century reproductions produced by a known die sinker — distinct from deceptive counterfeits — and they serve as the most accessible way for collectors to own a representative example of the celebrated Getz half dollar design. The copies preserve Getz's distinctive portrait style, which depicted Washington in contemporary military dress, and the eagle reverse that anticipated the heraldic imagery eventually adopted for regular-issue American silver coinage. Idler copies are scarce but significantly more available than original Getz strikings.

Rarity Notes

Rare. Idler copies are scarce but more available than original Getz strikes.

Cross References

Baker 25C; Musante GW-27; Whitman 10710