Owner Comments:
Pictured above is an undated Washington Double-Head Cent graded AU 55 by PCGS, with a CAC sticker affixed. The obverse exhibits a profiled likeness of George Washington facing left, adorned with a laurel wreath, and in military uniform. There is an elongated 8 pointed star beneath the portrait. The word "Washington" graces the periphery. The reverse features a similar, but not identical, profile of Washington, comparably clad, with the peripheral legend "One Cent". Some Double-Head Cents have engrailed edges (incuse reeding). Mint state examples are rare, with original mint luster virtually nonexistent.
There are many unanswered questions regarding this unusual piece, not the least of which relates to its date of production. Some have reflexively postulated that the coin was minted circa 1783, because around that time, Military Bust Tokens were produced with a comparable Washington likeness, (possibly based upon an Edward Savage painting). Other coins of similar appearance include the 1783 Military Bust Coppers, and the Washington and Independence pieces.
Q. David Bowers points out that even the Military Bust Tokens, back-dated to 1783, were not created until the early 1800s. He believes the Washington Double-Head Cents were likely struck in Birmingham, England by Edward Thomason in the 1820s or later. Many were accumulated in English collections long after the Condor Token Era. As many as 50,000 of these coins may have been exported to the United States, and extensively circulated as one cent pieces along with Hard Times Tokens during the period following the financial panic of 1837. If these cents were produced as late as 1860, as suggested by Musante, their inclusion in the post-colonial section of the Red Book seems suspect.