1795 1/2 P North Wales - Plain Edge Half Penny

Coin Details

Description

Cataloged as Baker 34, Musante GW-54, Whitman 10950, and PCGS #770, this 1795 Washington North Wales halfpenny with plain edge is the most available variety among the North Wales halfpenny die combinations, making it the standard entry point for collectors beginning to explore this distinctive subseries of Washington pieces. Struck in copper, weighing 9 grams with a 29 mm diameter, the plain edge distinguishes this variant from the lettered edge and other edge treatments found on North Wales halfpennies cataloged under adjacent numbers. The North Wales reverse — featuring design elements associated with the Welsh principality — was a standard die in the inventory of British token manufacturers who produced these pieces by combining various obverse and reverse dies to create multiple token types from a shared die inventory. The Washington portrait obverse paired with the North Wales reverse connected American political iconography with British commercial token production, a partnership that characterized the prolific token industry of late 18th-century Britain. Moderately scarce in absolute terms despite being the most available North Wales variety, the plain edge halfpenny provides a representative example of the transatlantic token trade that supplied the American market with Washington-themed coppers during the 1790s. British manufacturers in Birmingham and other industrial centers produced these tokens for export, recognizing that Washington's universal popularity guaranteed commercial demand for any piece bearing his portrait.

Rarity Notes

Moderately scarce. The most available North Wales halfpenny variety.

Cross References

Baker 34; Musante GW-54; Whitman 10950