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Message:: [QUOTE="johnmilton, post: 4355809, member: 101855"]In 1860 chief mint engraver, James Longacre, redesigned the half dime and dime. He moved the legend, "United States of America," from the reverse to the obverse and beefed up the wreath on the reverse to include a number of American agricultural products including corn, wheat and tobacco. This design would continue for the remainder of the Liberty Seated dime run until 1891 with one minor variation. In 1873 Congress voted to increase the weight of the dime, quarter and half dollar slightly to bring it up to a an even Metric amount. The dime now weighed exactly 2.5 grams. The idea probably stemmed from the concept of creating an international coinage that could used in many European countries. The $4 gold piece or "Stella" was the most famous coin that resulted from this concept, but the idea never came to fruition. The Legend Obverse Seated Dime, 1860 to 1891, excluding 1873-4 [ATTACH=full]1101780[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1101781[/ATTACH] The "With Arrows" Dime, 1873-4 [ATTACH=full]1101782[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1101785[/ATTACH] In 1891 the powers in charge decided that more than half a century was long enough for the Liberty Seated design and set out to change it. A group of ten professional artists were invited to submit designs. When Augustus St. Gaudens demanded that the artists be compensated for their design proposals, the treasury secretary scrapped the artist proposal and opened up the design competition to the general public. After a three man panel, which included St. Gaudens and mint engraver, Charles Barber, decided that none of the 300+ designs from the public were acceptable, the treasury secretary assigned the project to Barber. St. Gaudens was incensed by this decision. It would mark the beginning of running feud between Barber and St. Gaudens that would last for the remainder of both of their lives. Charles Barber's bust of Ms. Liberty resembled the young portraits of British Queen Victoria that had appeared on English coinage. Many critics found the designs for the dime, quarter and half dollar that bear his name, bland and uninspiring. Oddly Barber chose to retain the same reverse design that had been used for the Liberty Seated dime on his Barber dime. The Barber Dime, 1892 - 1916 [ATTACH=full]1101788[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1101789[/ATTACH] By 1916 many mint officials had become disenchanted with the Barber coin designs and were looking for changes. Theodore Roosevelt had stated the movement to upgrade the designs on American coins when he asked Augustus St. Gaudens to redesign several U.S. coins a decade before. Over bookings and terminal illness prevented St. Gaudens from completing that project, but St. Gaudens and Roosevelt had changed the mint design procedures. By 1916 the Barber designs had been in circulation for 25 years, and the law allowed the secretary of the treasury to authorize new designs without Congressional approval. The result was a contest between three artists, Herman MacNeil, Adolph Weinman and Albin Polasek. Each artist was scheduled to design one of three denominations, the dime, quarter or half dollar. MacNeil redesigned the quarter with his Standing Liberty design, and Weinman's designs won the competition for the dime and half dollar, which left Polasek on the sidelines. Weinman's featured a Ms. Liberty in a sort of "flapper's cap" with a wing on the side of her head. Although the symbolism was intended to imply genius and freedom of thought, it has since been called the Mercury dime. The reverse featured the fasces which is an ax supported by a bundle of rods dating from the Romans that implied strength though united numbers. The design was introduced in 1916 and continued until 1945. Mercury Dime, 1916 - 1945 [ATTACH=full]1101790[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1101791[/ATTACH] After Franklin Roosevelt died in 1945 Congress sought to issue a coin in his memory. The result was the Roosevelt dime. Although Roosevelt avoided making an issue of the fact that he had been crippled by polio in the early 1920s, he had lent his support to a rehabilitation center in Warm Springs, Georgia and the March of Dimes charity which was dedicated to finding ways to prevent and cure the dreaded disease. That charitable support made the dime a perfect fit for the Roosevelt coin. In a break with tradition, chief mint engraver, John Sinnock designed the new coin. It marked the first time in more than 50 years that an in-house mint employee had designed a coin for use in general circulation. The silver Roosevelt Dime, 1946 - 1964 [ATTACH=full]1101792[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1101793[/ATTACH] To be continued[/QUOTE]

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