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<p>[QUOTE="zach24, post: 1226075, member: 29975"]It was the year 1916, the Barber dime, in the eye of the public had long overstayed it's welcome. The Barber coinage series to many was ugly, and Charles Barber was deemed unartistic. Theodore Roosevelt had wanted a change of the design for quite some time... He had long admired the coinage of the Greeks, and wished that American coins could match their character and beauty. He issued a contest, he wanted Americans to design classicaly beautiful coins.</p><p> </p><p>The official name of the coin was, "Winged Liberty", it was nicknamed, "Mercury", because of the wings on her cap, which resembled those of the Roman god, Mercury. But in fact his wings were located on his shoes, which symbolized speed, as he WAS the Messenger God. Winged Liberty's wings located on her helmet are symbol for freedom of thought.</p><p> </p><p>At the time Charles Barber was Chief engraver, but most considered him a phony, and his designs unartistic. It took many years for his designs to gain collecting interest and appreciation. Amidst Barbers negative Critique, one Adolf Weiner was on his way to designing one of the most iconic coins in American history. His design was selected as the winner of the competition, and his initials can be seen at the lower right of the bust. Rumors began to spread that this was an error, (which in fact it was'nt), the public began to hoard these dimes, which resulted in many early high-grade specimens.</p><p> </p><p>Now every collector knows that the obverse is stunning, But what about the reverse?? The reverse features, Roman fasces that were traditionally carried by Roman magistrates. The fasces are are a historical symbol for "Readiness of war". Then surrounding the fasces is an olive branch. These two symbols when paired together are meant to resemble are country's willingess to go to war, but are basic desire for peace. This is very symbolic of the time, because this design came out amidst WWI, just 1 year before the U.S. entered the war.</p><p> </p><p>Not many years have been looked over by collectors, but some fairly low mintage coins can be had for a low price. Such as the early twenties pieces.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Read more: <a href="http://www.cointalk.com/private.php?do=showpm&pmid=361873#ixzz1SQ8K2q8O" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/private.php?do=showpm&pmid=361873#ixzz1SQ8K2q8O">http://www.cointalk.com/private.php?do=showpm&pmid=361873#ixzz1SQ8K2q8O</a>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="zach24, post: 1226075, member: 29975"]It was the year 1916, the Barber dime, in the eye of the public had long overstayed it's welcome. The Barber coinage series to many was ugly, and Charles Barber was deemed unartistic. Theodore Roosevelt had wanted a change of the design for quite some time... He had long admired the coinage of the Greeks, and wished that American coins could match their character and beauty. He issued a contest, he wanted Americans to design classicaly beautiful coins. The official name of the coin was, "Winged Liberty", it was nicknamed, "Mercury", because of the wings on her cap, which resembled those of the Roman god, Mercury. But in fact his wings were located on his shoes, which symbolized speed, as he WAS the Messenger God. Winged Liberty's wings located on her helmet are symbol for freedom of thought. At the time Charles Barber was Chief engraver, but most considered him a phony, and his designs unartistic. It took many years for his designs to gain collecting interest and appreciation. Amidst Barbers negative Critique, one Adolf Weiner was on his way to designing one of the most iconic coins in American history. His design was selected as the winner of the competition, and his initials can be seen at the lower right of the bust. Rumors began to spread that this was an error, (which in fact it was'nt), the public began to hoard these dimes, which resulted in many early high-grade specimens. Now every collector knows that the obverse is stunning, But what about the reverse?? The reverse features, Roman fasces that were traditionally carried by Roman magistrates. The fasces are are a historical symbol for "Readiness of war". Then surrounding the fasces is an olive branch. These two symbols when paired together are meant to resemble are country's willingess to go to war, but are basic desire for peace. This is very symbolic of the time, because this design came out amidst WWI, just 1 year before the U.S. entered the war. Not many years have been looked over by collectors, but some fairly low mintage coins can be had for a low price. Such as the early twenties pieces. Read more: [URL]http://www.cointalk.com/private.php?do=showpm&pmid=361873#ixzz1SQ8K2q8O[/URL][/QUOTE]
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