Post Your Coins With Horses

My favorite "coin with a horse" within the modern US commemorative series is, without a doubt, the first coin of the series - the 1982 George Washington 250th Birth Anniversary half dollar. To my eyes, the execution of its design is top shelf!

1982 George Washington Half Dollar


The coin presents noted equestrian George Washington on its obverse and a depiction of his Mount Vernon home on its reverse. The coin was designed/modeled by US Mint Chief Sculptor-Engraver Elizabeth Jones, an outstanding artist and the creator of several noteworthy designs within the modern US commemorative series (IMO, her design of Nike, the goddess of Victory, for the obverse of the 1988 Olympic Games gold quarter eagle is of particular note).

Washington Receiving a Salute on the Field of Trenton

(Image Credit: Image courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs division. https://www.loc.gov Public Domain.)


XYZ View of Washington's Mount Vernon Home

(Image Credit: Image courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs division. https://www.loc.gov Public Domain.)

The two Library of Congress images I've presented above appear to be plausible reference sources for Jones' designs.

The Washington half dollar was highly anticipated by collectors, and went on to sell millions of both its proof and uncirculated versions. The piece is often used as a "gateway coin" to encourage new collectors to consider US commemorative coins as a collecting pursuit due to its ready market availability and reasonable price point.

For many years - until the run up of silver over the past year or so - George Washington silver half dollars were often available for noticeably less than $10 - often for around $5.00. They were a great giveaway item for coin clubs to use to promote the hobby!

I visited Mount Vernon in my youth, but would like to go back as an adult with a better context for the experience.


For more of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, check out: Read More: Commems Collection.

1996 50 Leke from Albania:

Probably not the first of these to be posted in this thread...

My Wellington "Cossack Penny," a Spink-UK auction pickup from a while back that's TPG'd at MS-63 with lots of gloss and lustre in hand. Undated, but thoroughly documented as an 1813 mintage. Although struck and issued in Britain, this token evidently circulated much more widely in Canada.

Just a snippet of numismatic history: W.J. Davis, in his foundational catalog of the 19th-Century British tokens, wrote of the Cossack Penny, "This token is one of Halliday's finest productions, and is scarce, in consequence of its popularity with the American token collectors."

Withers 1505; Davis 92 (Yorkshire); Breton 985, Charlton WE-13A.

Very nice!

Excellent!

Nice example!

Very interesting!

Excellent!