1792 Washington President Plain Edge Cent

Coin Details

Description

Cataloged as Baker 24, Musante GW-22, Whitman 10680, and PCGS #711, this 1792 Washington President cent with plain edge belongs to the group of proposed coinage designs produced during the formative year of the United States Mint. Struck in copper, weighing 10 grams with a 28 mm diameter, the plain edge configuration distinguishes this variant from the lettered edge types cataloged under adjacent numbers within the Baker and Whitman reference systems. The WASHINGTON PRESIDENT obverse legend directly confronted the political question that dominated early American coinage debate: should the republic place its living president on coins, as European monarchies did with their sovereigns, or should the young nation chart a different course with allegorical Liberty designs that avoided any association with royal portraiture? Washington himself reportedly favored the Liberty approach, viewing presidential portraits on coinage as uncomfortably monarchical. The proposed cent denomination would have established Washington's image on the most widely circulated coin in everyday American commerce — a democratic choice that would put the presidential portrait into the hands of ordinary citizens rather than reserving it for higher-denomination coins accessible only to the wealthy. Extremely rare, Washington President cent patterns are among the most significant early American numismatic artifacts, documenting the competing visions for the visual identity of American money during the brief window between the Coinage Act of April 1792 and the adoption of the Liberty design for regular production coinage.

Rarity Notes

Extremely rare. Washington President cent patterns are very scarce.

Cross References

Baker 24; Musante GW-22; Whitman 10680