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."