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Message:: [QUOTE="johnmilton, post: 5132362, member: 101855"][ATTACH=full]1204241[/ATTACH] Barber Quarter, 1892 – 1916       There was interest in replacing the Liberty Seated designs as early as the 1870s, but no major push was made in that direction until 1887. Mint Director, James P. Kimball, devised a plan to have either John LaFarge (1835 – 1910, a noted painter and stained glass artist) or Augustus St.-Gaudens to prepare “a critique on the artistic execution of individual coins.” None of this came to fruition because the attorney general ruled that only Congress could authorize a change in the coin designs. The project was deferred until 1890.       In September 1890, Congress had approved changes to the coinage designs, and mint engraver, Charles Barber, laid out his suggestions for guidelines that would be given the perspective artists:<ol> <li>The designs must be models, not drawings. </li> <li>The models had to be four to eight inches in diameter. </li> <li>The models had to be in low relief. The relief did not have to be in coin low relief, but it was understood that they had to be suitable for the low relief of the finished coin. </li> <li>Barber strongly suggested that the designs had to include all of the statutory requirements including the coin’s denomination, date and all of the mottos and legends that were required by law. </li> </ol>      A group of ten artists, including Augustus St.-Gaudens were invited to submit designs. St.-Gaudens made it clear that he would not submit to a competition among artists, but he did volunteer to be involved in the design selection process.       St.-Gaudens and several other artists signed a letter that stated there was insufficient time to complete the designs. Furthermore, if they were going to take the time to develop appropriate work, they should be compensated. The artists asked for three months to execute the work and a pay schedule that called for the following amounts: $100 for each sketch, $500 for each design accepted and $1,000 for each design that was actually used.       Given these demands, the secretary of the treasury abruptly canceled the invitations to the artists and opened up the design competition to the general public. Seal engraver, Henry Mitchell (Who was from Boston.), St-Gaudens and Charles Barber were appointed to review the designs. The three judge panel rejected all of the designs submitted by the public. It has been reported that Barber and St.-Gaudens clashed repeatedly during the proceedings and generally did not listen to each other. This marked the beginning of the contentious relationship that would continue between the two until the time when Theodore Roosevelt asked St.-Gaudens to submit new designs for U.S. coinage in 1907.       Ultimately Charles Barber got the assignment to develop the new designs. Numismatic researcher, Roger Burdette has described the Barber designs as “typically mediocre imitations of the current French-style – hardly better than the arcane Seated Liberty type they replaced.” Modern collectors are split on this opinion with some taking a more favorable view of the Barber coins while others consider them to be dull and uninspiring.       The Barber Quarter features a bust of Ms. Liberty from the neck up, facing right, with a liberty cap on her head above a laurel wreath that was held by a bow. There were 13 stars surrounding the edge with “In God we trust” at the top and the date below. The reverse features the Heraldic Eagle design with 13 stars arranged about the eagle’s head and “United States of America” at the top and “Quarter Dollar” below.       I would characterize Barber’s designs as institutionally serviceable. The coins are reasonably attractive, at least in high grade, and the U.S. Mint System was able to strike them fairly well, with some minor exceptions. Conversely the Barber designs have a lack of energy and imagination.             Type collectors will have little trouble finding a suitable Barber Quarter for their sets. The coins are frequently available in all grades from less than Good to Gem Uncirculated and Proof. The complete date and mint set offers a much stiffer challenge with the 1901-S, 1913-S and 1896-S leading the way as the key Standing Liberty Quarter, 1916 – 1930       By 1916 the Barber coinage had been in place for 25 years, and according to a law that was passed in 1890, the Treasury Department had the authority to change the design without the approval of Congress. By then the “Renaissance of American Coinage,” started by Augustus St. Gaudens and Theodore Roosevelt, was in full bloom. Government officials were ready to replace the tired Barber designs.       The Treasury Department sponsored a contest among private artists for the new designs. Adolph Weinman won two of the competitions with his Mercury Dime and Walking Liberty Half Dollar. Herman MacNeil won the third with his Standing Liberty Quarter. The design featured a full figure of Ms. Liberty standing in a portal. She held a shield to the right and an olive branch in her hand on the left. “In God we trust” was inscribed on the portal with “Liberty” above and the date below. The reverse featured an eagle in full fight with the statutorily required “United States of America,” “E Pluribus Unum” and “Quarter Dollar” at the top, middle and bottom. There are 13 stars around the eagle.       This design was “very busy” given the small space provided, but if MacNeil had stayed with his initial motif, many of the production problems that would plague the Standing Liberty Quarter might have been avoided. As it was MacNeil tinkered with his work, which doomed this potentially attractive design to a shorter than expected run. [ATTACH=full]1204243[/ATTACH] Type I, 1916 – 1917       The mint introduced the Standing Liberty Quarter in December 1916 after issuing the Barber Quarter for first eleven months of the year. The new quarters caught coin dealers by surprise. Dealers usually set aside rolls of new coins that they sold over a period of years as their customers demanded them. The 1916 Standing Liberty Quarter, which had a mintage of only 52,000 pieces, slipped under the dealers’ attention, and they saved very few rolls. The coin became a low mintage, low survival issue making it a classic key date in the 20th century.       In a scenario that would be repeated a couple more times, MacNeil found that 1916 quarter had some production issues. The design details did not strike up as well as he had hoped. After he made some adjustments, the 1917 Type 1 Quarters were the best struck issue for the design, at least for the Philadelphia Mint pieces. Unfortunately, that positive situation would not continue.       There are enough differences in the design details to distinguish between the 1916 and 1917 Type 1 Quarters to differentiate the two when the date is no longer visible. Ms. Liberty’s head is closer to the rim and the shape of her gown and the bottom folds of her garment are further off the floor on the 1916 quarter than the 1917 dated piece. The differences are worth noting because even in the lowest grades a certified, dateless 1916 Standing Liberty Quarter is worth more than $1,000. A 1916 Standing Liberty Quarter, Photos courtesy of Heritage Auctions [ATTACH=full]1204245[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1204246[/ATTACH] Type II, 1917 – 1924       Much has been written about how the Type I Standing Liberty Quarter was an “obscene design” because Ms. Liberty’s bare bosom. For years numismatic writers have claimed the Herman MacNeil changed his design because of editorial complaints about the coin. A little over a decade ago, numismatic researcher, Roger Burdette, set the record straight.       There was no flood of protests in the press over MacNeil’s initial design. Herman MacNeil modified his design in a desire to symbolize the upcoming entry of the U.S. into World War I. He covered Ms. Liberty in chainmail armor in preparation for the fight that was ahead. On the reverse, he moved the eagle up in the field and moved three stars to a position under the bird.       These modifications were a disaster for the design. The vast majority of the pieces were poorly struck, not only on Ms. Liberty’s head, which is the focal point for coin collectors, but also on the rivets in her shield, parts of her gown and even the date. In addition, the date wore off the coin fairly quickly, and on a few occasions, date was barely readable from the day the coin was struck. Modifications were in order, but it would be eight years before the mint would make them. [ATTACH=full]1204247[/ATTACH] Type III, 1925 – 1930       In 1925, the mint made some much needed adjustments to the date area of the coin. The date was placed in a recessed area that made it less prone to wear. The change also eliminated the strike issues in the date area that had previously plagued the Standing Liberty design. Sill the design was far from perfect, and too many pieces continued to be struck with missing details. The Standing Liberty design would end after less than 15 years of production. [ATTACH=full]1204248[/ATTACH] Washington Quarter 1932 to Present       The mint system introduced the Washington Quarter in 1932 in commemoration of the first president’s 200th birthday. For a brief period, mint officials considered issuing the Washington Quarter as circulating commemorative coin, but they soon decided to make the design change permanent.       The selection of the design was controversial. As had become the standard practice, private artists were invited to submit designs. The only requirement was that the portrait of Washington had to be based upon Jean-Antoine Houdon’s famous bust of the general and first president. Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin sent Houdon to America to execute the bust in 1785. The artist executed the Washington bust from life while he was visiting Washington at Mt. Vernon. Houdon’s Washington bust is viewed as the definitive three dimensional image of the first president. [ATTACH=full]1204250[/ATTACH] Bust of Washington by Jean-Antoine Houdon       The apparent winner of the contest was Mrs. Laura Fraser, the wife of James Fraser who had designed the Buffalo Nickel. Mrs. Fraser was no stranger to producing designs for U.S. coins. Previously she had designed the Alabama and Grant commemorative coins, and she had combined her talents with her husband to produce the Oregon Trail Commemorative Half Dollar. Many critics rate the Oregon Trail as the best of all of the early U.S. commemorative coin designs.       Mrs. Frazer’s design won the approval of the Fine Arts Commission, which had an important role in selecting the artwork that appears on U.S. coinage. Unfortunately for Mrs. Fraser, treasury secretary, Andrew Mellon, preferred the work of John Flannigan. The issue went back and forth, but ultimately Mellon got his way, and the Flannigan design appeared on the new quarters. [ATTACH=full]1204252[/ATTACH] Mrs. Laura Frazer's design for the Washington Quarter finally made an appearance in 1999. It was used for the Washington commemorative $5 gold coin which noted the 200th anniversary of Washington's death.       Since that outcome, many collectors have cried, “foul!” In the view of many observers, Laura Fraser’s portrait of Washington was far more forceful and impressive, and her clean and uncluttered eagle on the reverse won hands down over Flannigan’s crowded, muddled design. Finally in 1999, Mrs. Fraser received posthumous recognition for her work when it appeared on the Washington Commemorative Five Dollar Gold Piece. This coin memorized the 200th anniversary of Washington’s death.       In the interim, from its introduction in 1932, mint die makers have made many minor adjustments to the Washington Quarter design to improve its appearance. The one that is easiest to note for most collectors was the strengthening of the lettering for the motto, “In God we trust,” on the obverse in 1934. Specialists, who are truly devoted to the series, have noted many more adjustments.       Years ago, I met a collector who was also an engineer. After going through many rolls of clad quarters he found one piece that was a very rare interim adjustment to the Washington design that was represented by a very few coins according to him. He had reserved a special place in his safe deposit box for his find, which the vast majority of collectors would never notice. That’s what you call dedication! The Clad Quarter with an Eagle on the Reverse, 1965 – 1974, 1977 - 1998       By the early 1960s, the nation’s stock pile of silver was beginning to be depleted, and the price of silver was rising. Despite disclaimers from government officials, some people were hoarding silver coins in anticipation that their melt value would eventually exceed their face value. The introduction of the Kennedy Half Dollar in 1964 accelerated the drain on the nation’s silver reserves with a record mintage of 429.5 million pieces. The nation was faced with a shortage of coins in circulation, and Congress had to act.       The Coinage Act of 1965 removed all of the silver from the dime and quarter and replaced it with the clad coinage. The outer layers of the new quarter were made of 75% copper and 25% nickel bonded to a core of pure copper. The design of the Washington Quarter remained the same. The goal was to produce a coin that the vending machine industry could use without retooling. The last made for circulation silver coin was the half dollar. Its outer layers were made of 80% silver and 20% copper that was bonded to a core of 79.1% copper and 20.9% silver. [ATTACH=full]1204266[/ATTACH] The Bicentennial Quarter, 1975 and ‘76       The Washington Quarter design remained the same until 1975 when it was modified in celebration of our nation’s Bicentennial. The reverse was replaced with a design by Jack Ahr, a private citizen and professional artist, who won the contest for the Bicentennial era coinage. It featured a Revolutionary War drummer boy with a torch to the left, surrounded by the statutorily required “United States of America,” “Quarter Dollar” and “E Pluribus Unum.” The only modification to the obverse was a double date, “1776 [ATTACH=full]1204267[/ATTACH] 1976.” The coins were issued with the same double date during 1975 and 1976.       The Bicentennial Quarter was issued with the copper-nickel clad alloy for general circulation. There were also 40% silver clad collector coins that were issued in the Proof and Uncirculated coin formats. All of these coins are inexpensive and readily available to collectors.       In 1977 the Washington Quarter retuned to its original design. The mint continued to tinker with the original motif. At one point there was a significate increase in the amount of hair detail in Washington’s wig. Some collectors derisively called termed this “improvement” as “spaghetti hair.”[/QUOTE]

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