1792 Pattern Washington Half Dollar by Peter Getz. Musante GW-22, Baker-24C. Silver. Ornamented edge of the host coin. SP-10 (PCGS).

33.5 mm. 203.9 grains. Relatively uniform medium gray silver on the obverse. The reverse is light gray on the higher areas of relief, while deeper gray toning in the fields helps to accentuate the designs. Struck in medal-turn orientation and somewhat unevenly, as often seen on impressions from these dies in both silver and copper. The detail of the obverse legend is weak from about 9 o’clock to 1 o’clock, but nearly all the letters can be discerned. This side is struck slightly high on the flan, but the letters, if fully developed, would all be unencumbered by the rim. The reverse is somewhat more aggressively off center toward 1 o’clock, and the detail is weak in that area with most of the letters near the 1 o’clock position gone, including ES OF, as well as the upper right wingtip which is just off the edge. A fairly smooth general appearance is quite inviting, and the lack of a suspension piercing (or subsequent plugging) that plagues so many of these coins makes this a particularly appealing piece. A single thin scratch extending into the field from Washington’s nose is noted, and a small series of short scratches is also noted at the lower reverse. Considering the state of many Getz half dollars, these details are easily forgiven on this specimen. This appears to be struck on a Spanish American 4 Reales, but it is very difficult to state with certainty. Very little of the undertype is visible. In fact, it is so little that most would miss it with ease, and the edge is worn enough to make the edge device uncertain. However, directly above Washington’s head, in the space between WASHINGTON. and PRESIDENT, can be seen the ghostly shadow of D from the host coin, along with a possible period and the curve of an adjacent G, which would match a 4 Reales. However, George Fuld suggested that it might be over a French half-ecu, which would have similar letters in its legend. This is number 19 in George Fuld’s roster of specimens, though he identifies it as having a plain edge. He does have the incredible provenance correct, though, as this was consigned to the March 1995 Bowers and Merena sale by the descendants of a man who may well have been the first to own it, a teenager at the time of Washington’s death in 1799. The family stated it had been in their care since the 1790s and carried as a pocket piece by their ancestor. This is a remarkable provenance for one of these, as it speaks to enormous reverence for the memory of Washington. In 1928, Samuel Eli Hilles published a history of the Hilles family, Memorials of the Hilles family, more particularly of Samuel and Margaret Hill Hilles of Wilmington, Delaware, with some account of their ancestry and some data not before published… The Samuel and Margaret referenced as the focal points of the history were the grandparents of the author, brother and sister-in-law of Eli Hilles, the carrier of this medal. Margaret Hill Hilles, Samuel’s wife, and Eli’s sister-in-law, is stated in the book to have met George Washington as a girl of six years old, interestingly, in 1792: “President Washington came down the street with his staff and stopped in front of the two children; then addressing grandmother [Margaret Hill Hilles, at the age of six] said, ‘Well, my little lassie, how is your grandmother to-day? What makes your cheeks so red?’ She answered, ‘Mush and milk’. He shook hands with grandmother and took her cousin in his arms and kissed her; then said, ‘Give my love to your grandmother’.” The time and place (“the South side of Walnut Street, just above Fourth Street, Philadelphia”) are proper for such a casual run-in with Washington, as this is but three blocks from Congress Hall, and four blocks from Washington’s home site in Philadelphia, where the Federal Government was located at the time. The close proximity and clear family acquaintance with Washington is intriguing in light of the story surrounding this Getz pattern and would explain why someone in the Hilles family might elect to carry such a memento for many years.

From the Sydney F. Martin Collection. Earlier ex Eli Hilles of Wilmington, Delaware (1783-1863); Elizabeth Barker Hilles, daughter of Eli Hilles (1813-1907); Samuel Eli Hilles; Margaret Hilles Shearman (1883-1964), who offered this piece to Eric P. Newman, in 1955; Unnamed descendant of the Hilles family, and consignor to our (Bowers and Merena’s) sale of March 1995, where it appeared at lot 3373; Lawrence R. Stack Collection, November 2006.