The Mystery Initials on the Washington Commemorative Half

I've been taking advantage of the arctic weather to clean up my PC, especially the many photos and docs I have archived. Sorting through hundreds of coin pictures, I came across an odd close up of the reverse of my 1982 George Washington commemorative half dollar. This coin is easily obtained, being neither scarce nor pricey, but it's notable as the issue that re-introduced the commemorative coin to collectors in the early 1980's. It's also quite attractive, in my humble opinion, but I digress. Why a close-up?

My photo focused on the bushes to the left of Mount Vernon - why would I have such an odd closeup? A quick internet search reminded me; there's a secret hidden in those bushes. The coin was designed by Chief Engraver Elizabeth Jones, and when pressed for time, she enlisted the help of another mint employee, Matthew Peloso, who helped complete the coin's reverse. Jones' initials appear on both the obverse and reverse. Peloso asked if he could add his initials to the reverse, and she agreed. He added them to the bushes to the left of Mount Vernon.

In those days, galvanos were used in coin production. Galvanos are oversized engravings that are mechanically reduced to produce the working dies. Due to their large size, small details are much more obvious on galvanos than on the actual dies.

At the press conference announcing the release of the new commemorative, the galvanos were on display. Beth Deisher and Anthony Swiatek from Coin World were in attendance, and Swiatek noticed the initials in the bushes and asked Mint Director Donna Pope about them. It turns out that Pope was unaware of them, but later confirmed their story.

To be honest, I've never been able to see the secret "MP" initials on the coin, even using my cheap USB microscope. I think they're in between the pillars of Mount Vernon, but it may just be pareidolia. If anyone has a good picture of them, I'd love to see it.

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Thanks for humoring me while I pass the time on a brutally cold January day!

 

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If someone shows us I’ll look closer at the 2 I brought with me to Florida
I’ll do my best for closeup and post later

 

Oh goodie, because I don't see it. Thanks. It's like that game, what's it called? "I spy with my eye".