The Year 1792

Author’s note: This is the fifth in a series of articles discussing the coinage of 1792 and the steps leading up to it. Previous articles, which covered 1776 to January 1792, appeared in the Numismatic News issues of Dec. 10, Dec. 31, Jan. 14, and Jan. 28. The present article begins after the Senate bill was sent to the House of Representatives on January 13, 1792.

BY R.W. JULIAN

January 13 to March 24, 1792 While no documents have been located to date explaining the long delay in the House of Representatives considering the mint bill passed by the Senate on Jan. 12, 1792, two pieces from this period may shed light on the subject. They are, respectively, the private pattern silver half dollars issued by Peter Getz and the equally private pattern large cent with “GW Pt” on the reverse. The attribution of the pattern half dollar dies to Getz is based primarily on an 1860 book, The American Numismatic Manual, written by Montroville Wilson Dickeson. Dickeson wrote, “We have been favored with the following facts in the life of Mr. Peter Getz, by J. Franklin Reigart, of Lancaster, Pa. They illustrate the force of native talent and…

You're reading a preview of

Numismatic News (Digital) - 1 Issue, February 4, 2025

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.