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United States of America
1982 President George Washington Commemorative Proof Silver Half Dollar in
Gift Presentation Box
Reference: KM 208
GEORGE WASHINGTON LIBERTY 250th ANNIVERSARY OF BIRTH 1982, President George
Washington atop horse facing; initials of Designer Elizabeth Jones "EJ" in field
to left; mintmark S (for San Francisco) in field to right.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IN GOD WE TRUST HALF DOLLAR, Facade of President George
Washington’s Home, Mount Vernon with the Great Seal below.
This is the first 90% silver coin to be produced since 1964
and also the first commemorative coin to be produced since 1954 by the mint of
the United States of America.
Size: 1.205" in diameter; reeded edge
Weight: .4019 troy oz.
Composition: .3617 fine troy oz. silver .0402 troy oz. copper
Fineness: .900 silver; .100 copper
Deisgner: Elizabeth Jones, Chief Sculptor and Engraver of the United States
Mint: United States Assay Office in San Francisco, California
Mintmark: "S"
Authority: Public Law 97-104 December 23, 1981
You are bidding on the exact item pictured,
provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of
Authenticity.
George Washington
(February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799) was the
first
President of the United States
(1789–1797), the
Commander-in-Chief
of the
Continental Army
during the
American Revolutionary War
, and one of the
Founding Fathers of the United States
. He
presided over the convention that drafted the
United States Constitution
, which replaced the
Articles of Confederation
and remains the
supreme
law of the land
.
Washington was elected president as the unanimous choice of the
electors
in the elections of both
1788–1789
and
1792
. He oversaw the creation of a strong,
well-financed national government that maintained neutrality in the wars raging
in Europe, suppressed rebellion, and won acceptance among Americans of all
types. Washington established many forms in government still used today, such as
the
cabinet system
and
inaugural address
. His retirement after two
terms and the peaceful transition from his presidency to that of
John Adams
established a tradition that
continued up until
Franklin D. Roosevelt
was elected to a third
term. Washington has been widely hailed as "father
of his country" even during his lifetime.
Washington was born into the provincial gentry of
Colonial Virginia
; his wealthy planter family
owned tobacco plantations and slaves, that he inherited. Although Washington
owned hundreds of slaves throughout his lifetime, his views on slavery evolved,
and he desired to free them and abolish slavery. After both his father and older
brother died when he was young, Washington became personally and professionally
attached to the powerful
William Fairfax
, who promoted his career as a
surveyor and soldier. Washington quickly became a senior officer in the colonial
forces during the first stages of the
French and Indian War
. Chosen by the
Second Continental Congress
in 1775 to be
commander-in-chief of the Continental Army in the American Revolution,
Washington managed to
force the British out of Boston
in 1776, but
was defeated and almost captured later that year when he
lost New York City
. After
crossing the Delaware River
in the dead of
winter, he
defeated the British
in two battles, retook New
Jersey and restored momentum to the Patriot cause.
Because of his strategy, Revolutionary forces captured two major British
armies at
Saratoga in 1777
and
Yorktown in 1781
. Historians laud Washington
for his selection and supervision of his generals, encouragement of morale and
ability to hold together the army, coordination with the state governors and
state militia units, relations with Congress and attention to supplies,
logistics, and training. In battle, however, Washington was repeatedly
outmaneuvered by British generals with larger armies. After victory had been
finalized in 1783, Washington resigned as Commander-in-chief rather than seize
power, proving his opposition to dictatorship and his commitment to
American republicanism
.
Dissatisfied with the
Continental Congress
, in 1787 Washington
presided over the
Constitutional Convention
that devised a new
federal government
for the United States.
Elected unanimously
as the first President of
the United States in 1789, he attempted to bring rival factions together to
unify the nation. He supported
Alexander Hamilton
‘s programs to pay off all
state and national debt, to implement an effective tax system and to create a
national bank, despite opposition from
Thomas Jefferson
.
Washington proclaimed the United States neutral in the wars raging in Europe
after 1793. He avoided war with Great Britain and guaranteed a decade of peace
and profitable trade by securing the
Jay Treaty
in 1795, despite intense opposition
from the
Jeffersonians
. Although he never officially
joined the
Federalist Party
, he supported its programs.
Washington’s Farewell Address
was an
influential primer on
republican virtue
and a warning against
partisanship, sectionalism, and involvement in foreign wars. He retired from the
presidency in 1797 and returned to his home in
Mount Vernon
, and domestic life where he
managed a variety of enterprises. He freed all his slaves by his final will.
Washington had a vision of a great and powerful nation that would be built on
republican lines using federal power. He sought to use the national government
to preserve liberty, improve infrastructure, open the western lands, promote
commerce, found a permanent capital, reduce regional tensions and promote a
spirit of American nationalism. At his death, Washington was
eulogized
as "first in war, first in peace, and
first in the hearts of his countrymen" by
Henry Lee
.
The Federalists made him the symbol of their party but for many years, the
Jeffersonians continued to distrust his influence and delayed building the
Washington Monument
. As the leader of the first
successful revolution against a colonial empire in world history, Washington
became an international icon for liberation and nationalism. He is
consistently ranked
among the top three
presidents of the United States, according to polls of both scholars and the
general public.
Mount Vernon
in
Fairfax County, Virginia
, near
Alexandria
, was the
plantation
home of
George Washington
, first
President
of the United States. The estate is situated on the banks of the
Potomac River
across from
Prince George’s County
,
Maryland
. The Washington family had owned land
in the area since the time of Washington’s great-grandfather in 1674, and in
1739 embarked on an expansion of the estate that continued under George
Washington, who came into possession of the estate in 1754, but did not become
its sole owner until 1761.
The mansion is built of wood in a loose
Palladian style
, and was constructed by George
Washington in stages between 1758 and 1778; it occupies the site of an earlier,
smaller house built by George Washington’s father
Augustine
, some time between 1726 and 1735. It
remained Washington’s country home for the rest of his life. Following his death
in 1799, under the ownership of several successive generations of the family,
the estate progressively declined. In 1858, the house’s historical importance
was recognized and it was saved from ruin by
The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association
; this
philanthropic organization acquired it together with part of the Washington
estate. Escaping the damage suffered by many plantation houses during the
American Civil War
, Mount Vernon was restored.
Mount Vernon was designated a
National Historic Landmark
in 1960 and is today
listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
. It is
still owned and maintained in trust by The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, and
is open every day of the year. However, admitting the public is not a new
innovation, but maintenance of a tradition over 200 years old begun by George
Washington himself; as early as 1796, he wrote: "I have no objection to any
sober or orderly person’s gratifying their curiosity in viewing the buildings,
Gardens, &ca. about Mount Vernon."
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