1795 Liberty & Security - Plain Edge Half Penny

Coin Details

Description

Cataloged as Baker 31, Musante GW-40, and Whitman 10820, this 1795 Washington Liberty and Security halfpenny with a plain (unlettered) edge is the simplest edge treatment among the several varieties known for this type, which also include lettered edges reading BIRMINGHAM, LONDON, and ASYLUM. The obverse features a draped bust of Washington facing right with the inscription LIBERTY AND SECURITY — a motto celebrating the twin ideals that Washington's presidency was understood to guarantee for the young republic. The reverse typically displays a heraldic device or value indication consistent with British-made token coinage of the period. Plain edge examples are generally the most common of the Liberty and Security halfpennies, suggesting that the plain-edge die pairing saw the longest production run or that edge lettering was omitted from the primary manufacturing sequence and added only to selected portions of the output. The 1795 date places this issue in the middle of Washington's second presidential term, a period when his image appeared on numerous commercially produced tokens, medals, and pattern-like pieces manufactured predominantly in the Birmingham and London workshops that dominated the Anglo-American token trade. Moderately scarce despite being the most available edge variety, the plain edge Liberty and Security halfpenny remains an accessible entry point for collectors building a Washington pieces type set, offering genuine late-eighteenth-century Washingtonia at a fraction of the cost demanded by the rarer lettered-edge variants.

Rarity Notes

Moderately scarce. The most common edge variety for this type.

Cross References

Baker 31; Musante GW-40; Whitman 10820