Liberty Head (Barber) designs appeared on United States minor silver coinage (the dime, quarter, and half dollar) from 1892 to 1916. They derive their common name from their designer, Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber.
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In 1887, Mint Director James P. Kimball included a statement in his annual report to the United States Congress requesting a coinage redesign. He proposed a process whereby distinguished artists would be invited to participate in the design process, and, in 1890, the United States Department of the Treasury asked ten eminent American artists to submit design proposals for minor silver coinage. However, this plan proved unworkable when the artists made financial demands that the Treasury was unwilling to meet. The next effort was a contest open to the public, but none of the designs submitted in this manner were satisfactory to the Mint. Ultimately, it fell to Charles Barber to create new designs for silver coinage. He did so, and the designs were first placed into production in 1892.
The basic obverse design of the Barber silver coinage consisted of a Liberty head with a cap and wreath. [1] This figure was inspired both by classical Greek and Roman models and by the designs of various 19th-century French coinage. The word "LIBERTY" appeared on the headband in incuse; since it wears relatively quickly in circulation, it is often used by numismatists to help determine the condition of circulated coins. The Liberty head is flanked by six stars on the left and seven on the right, and the motto "IN GOD WE TRUST" appears above it. The date is centered below the figure.
There were two basic reverse designs on Barber coinage. The dime featured a wreath of American agricultural products with the words "ONE DIME" in the center. The mint mark, if any, was positioned below the wreath. This reverse design differed little from that of the old Seated Liberty dime.
On the quarter and half dollar, a heraldic eagle, similar to that featured on the Great Seal of the United States, is the central design element, with "QUARTER DOLLAR" or "HALF DOLLAR" and the mint mark (if any) located beneath it. As on the Great Seal, the eagle carries a banner in its beak reading "E PLURIBUS UNUM", and the amount of the motto visible is helpful to numismatic graders in determining the condition of circulated specimens. A field of 13 stars (the same number as on the obverse, representing the 13 original American colonies) appears above the eagle, and on the top edge, "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" is inscribed.
All Barber Coinage saw very heavy and long term use in daily commerce and, consequentially, most surviving examples are heavily worn, this is especially true of the Quarters and Half Dollars. It is frequently said by collectors and dealers that Barber Coinage is full of condition rarities, that is, coins which are very scarce in higher grades. A good example of this is the 1901-S Quarter, which is the most valuable regular issue Barber coin. As such even extremely worn specimens are worth thousands of dollars and are frequently submitted for third party grading. Of the 566 1901-S Quarters graded by PCGS, 488, or 86% of them, grade below fine, and 224, or 40% of those examples graded, were below Good. Barber Coinage in the so-called "Mid Grades" of Fine through Extremely Fine can be very challenging to locate, with some otherwise common coins, such as the 1892 Philadelphia Half Dollar, having populations in Very Fine of less than 10 coins at PCGS. [2]
The Barber dime series includes the mammoth rarity, the 1894-S. It is one of the most valuable coins ever produced by the United States Mint. Only 24 were produced. Of those, only nine remain, one of which sold for $1.9 million in 2007.[3] However, the 1894-S dime is considered to be a Proof strike. As such, the most valuable business strike dime is the 1895-O.
In addition to the general scarcity of most any Barber design in grades above Very Good, there are three extremely rare and valuable coins in the Barber quarter series. These are the 1896-S, 1901-S and 1913-S. The 1901-S is by far the most valuable, having a value of $5,500 in Good-4 and $17,500 in Fine-12 as of March 30, 2011.[4]
The Barber half dollars are, like all coins in the series, challenging to find in higher grades. There is no immensely expensive key date in the series, the most valuable date being the 1904-S. However, a very small number of 1892 Halves minted in New Orleans were made from dies which used a Mint Mark punch originally intended for Quarter Dollar dies. These coins are known as the 1892-O "Micro O" and are extremely valuable, with fewer than 60 known to exist.
| Preceded by Seated Liberty coinage |
United States coinage (1892-1916) | Succeeded by Winged Liberty Head dime Standing Liberty Quarter Walking Liberty half dollar |
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