1792 George Washington - Half Disme

 A common trivia question  ... Who was the first real person to appear on a U.S. coin?   Many people think it was George Washington, but the answer is Abraham Lincoln in the year of 1909.    You see, back in 1792, when the U.S. first began to mint it's own coin, they chose to use symbolic images such as  "Lady Liberty", or the "goddess" of Liberty.  It all started on April 2, 1792 when the Coinage Act was passed by the United States Congress and established the United States Mint.  This act established the silver dollar as the unit of money in the United States, and declared it to be lawful tender for U.S. Currency.  The U.S. dollar was to be based upon the decimal system.  In that same year, during his annual address to Congress, President George Washington took the pleasure of announcing the the half-dime as the first U.S. coin in circulation. 

"In execution of the authority given by the Legislature measures have been taken for engaging some artists from abroad to aid in the establishment of our mint. Others have been employed at home. Provision has been made of the requisite buildings, and these are now putting into proper condition for the purposes of the establishment. There has also been a small beginning in the coinage of half dimes, the want of small coins in circulation calling the first attention to them."

 The front side of the half disme featured the Lady Liberty with the words 'INDUSTRY - LIB- PAR- OF - SCIENCE', and the back side featured an Eagle with the words 'UNITED STATES OF AMERICA' and 'HALF DISME' (pronounced "deem").   This "small beginning" as Washington called it was actually produced using the private facilities of a local craftsman by the name of John Harper under the auspices of official Mint personnel.   The U.S. Mint buildings were not yet ready.   Thus, while it is widely considered the first United States coinage struck under the Mint Act of 1792, it is considered by some to be just an experimental issue.

  
Now back to the face, many people say that the original model for "Lady Liberty" was the mother of Frédéric Bartholdi, the man who sculpted the Statue Of Liberty.  Perhaps she is on the first U.S. coin.   But, common folklore say that the portrait on the 1792 half disme is that of First Lady Martha Washington.  As the story goes, some of the coins were struck using melted-down silverware from the Washington household.   So if you said Washington was the first real person on a U.S. coin you may have been right.  That is according to common folklore.

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=29434
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1792_half_disme
http://www.govmint.com/pages/who-can-be-on-a-coin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Liberty