1793 Washington Ship halfpenny. Baker-18, Musante GW-20, W-10855. AU-55 (PCGS).172.9 grains. Lettered edge. “A truly outstanding example,” according to the legendary 1984 Picker sale catalog, and so it remains to this day. Glossy light brown with some darker mottling over appealing surfaces and well-detailed devices. Nicely centered and struck from an early enough die state that, while some swelling is seen around the reverse periphery, the intricacies of the central reverse device are all present and bold. Some shallow depressions in the left obverse field are as struck, and no post-striking defects are notable. A particularly handsome example that is far finer than the crowd of examples certified at this level.From the Archangel Collection. Earlier, from Stack’s sale of the Richard Picker Collection, October 1984, lot 308.
