Question For Colonial Experts

I was looking through the RedBook and I came accross a coin of interest. A 1783 Washington portrait, Large Military variety. The reason I'm interested in this coin is because I want a nice representation of America's history, something from the late 1700's. I really like the "Washington & Independce", the profile of George Washington in his military uniform, etc. It's also relatively affordable compared to most colonials.

In any event, I have a couple of questions.

1: Is this actual currency, or was it used as such? I see no mention of denomination though it (appears) to be a large cent. If not, what was it made/used for exactly?

2: The RedBook says "many of the Washington partraits were minted much later than the date on the coin". Is that the case with this coin, and if so when (about) was it minted? I'm only interested in something that was definately minted in the late 1700s.

3: Please share any interesting knowledge you have about the coin that's not mentioned in RedBook. They don't cover much ground.

Thanks for any help!

Edit: Corrected 1793 to 1783