Unique Pair of PROOF Uncancelled Martha Washington Dies

Used to Strike Half Dollar Experimental Test Pieces for U.S. Judd #2131-2143
NGC Certified & Encapsulated — UNIQUE in Private Hands

Uncancelled Martha Washington Proof Dies — **Photo by Mike Byers – CoinWeek.** – This is the only known set of PROOF **Uncancelled** Martha Washington Half Dollar-sized dies in private hands.

Martha Washington dies were used by the U.S. Mint and contracted vendors for experimental testing.

Martha Washington dies have become the U.S. Mint’s all-purpose design for testing new compositions, surfaces and planchet sizes. These experimental strikings were conducted both inside the Mint and outside by companies contracted by the U.S. Mint. Companies within the United States included IDX Inc., PMX Industries, and Olin Brass Corporation, while Schuler AG in Germany struck coins overseas. [Schuler AG supplies Schuler coin presses to the United States Mint for striking our coinage.]

These PROOF Uncancelled Martha Washington Half Dollar-sized dies are featured on the cover of Mint Error News Magazine Issue #86.

There are only two other Martha Washington Half Dollar-Sized Uncancelled Dies known in private hands, and those struck mint state test pieces. The first one discovered was featured both in CoinWeek and on the cover of Mint Error News Magazine Issue #44 (Spring 2018).

Obverse Die for the Martha Washington Proof — Photo By Mike Byers -Obverse Die

Martha Washington dies have “fantasy designs” intended to avoid creating rarities with regular coinage motifs.

The design of these proof dies was used by the U.S. Mint for metallurgical testing beginning in 1965 until 2011 when the dies were redesigned.

The obverse features a bust of Martha Washington, with the inscription “VIRGINIA” above and the date “1759” (the year she married George Washington) below.

Reverse Die - Martha Washington Proof — Photo By Mike Byers – **Reverse Die**

The reverse typically features an image of Mount Vernon. These Martha Washington proof dies and test pieces are featured in the U.S. Patterns website (uspatterns.com).

This unique set of PROOF Uncancelled Martha Washington Half Dollar-sized dies belong in a premier collection of U.S. patterns or unique numismatic treasures. These dies are part of the U.S. Mint’s history of experimenting and striking pattern coins prior to producing our nation’s coins for circulation.