Photos used with permission and courtesy of Heritage Auction Galleries

Description:
The Mint Act of 1890 allowed for change of coin designs every 25 years, and the dime, quarter, and half dollar were eligible for a redesign in 1891. An initial competition to come up with a new design was opened only to 10 eminent U.S. sculptors, but when those invited presented a list of requirements that included compensation for every entry, whether selected or not, the Treasury demurred. The contest was instead opened to the general public; judges for the entries included Mint Engraver Charles E. Barber, Boston engraver Henry Mitchell, and artist Augustus Saint-Gaudens. None of the entries were deemed satisfactory, though; just two of about 300 entries were awarded even an Honorable Mention. Mint Director Edward Leech deemed the competition a ‘wretched failure’, and assigned Barber the task of redesigning all the coins that were eligible for a change.

Barber’s design is said to be modeled after Morgan’s Liberty on the dollar, though other than perhaps the somewhat stoic appearance of both models, the comparison would likely not be obvious to a casual observer. In contrast to the dollar, Barber faced his Liberty to the right, shortened and covered most of her hair, and minimized the headband that displayed LIBERTY, instead featuring a laurel wreath around the base of the cap. He also replaced the naturalistic eagle used on the reverse of Bust and Seated half dollars with one reminiscent of Robert Scot’s Heraldic eagle from the early 1800s. The Barber dimes, quarters, and half dollars are some of the few coin types to be known by the name of the designer (Gobrecht and Morgan dollars, and Saint-Gaudens double eagles being the others), but this type is also known as Liberty Head. Barber half dollars were produced for 24 years, a design that both started and ended according to the terms of the 1890 Mint Act.

On the obverse Liberty faces right, with tightly constrained hair barely visible below a prominent wreath of laurel that surrounds the base of a hat; the wreath is tied at the back by a ribbon. Above the forehead is a small band that displays LIBERTY. Inside the dentilled rim are the words IN GOD WE TRUST at the top, the date at the bottom, and completing the circle, six-point stars connecting the phrases, six stars to the left of Liberty and seven to the right. The designer’s initial B is toward the back of the base of the neck. The reverse displays a somewhat awkwardly proportioned eagle with outstretched wings and legs, the dexter claw (viewerÕs left) clutching an olive branch and the sinister a bundle of 13 arrows. The eagle holds in its beak a flowing ribbon displaying E PLURIBUS UNUM, and a Union shield is across the chest. The rim is dentilled and around the periphery of the surface are UNITED STATES OF AMERICA at the top (overlapped by the tips of the eagle’s wings) and HALF DOLLAR at the bottom, the phrases separated by two centered dots. Thirteen five-point stars fill the field above the eagle below STATES OF. Half dollars were minted at Philadelphia, New Orleans, San Francisco, and Denver; O, S, and D mintmarks are below the eagle and above the DO in DOLLAR.

Several hundred business strike Barber half dollars have been certified for each year, with nearly 30,000 coins total in census/ population reports. Prooflike examples have been identified. The 1892-O Micro O is the most infrequently seen, with fewer than 50 pieces currently certified. Prices are moderate for most dates and mintmarks through MS60, expensive to near-Gem, and very expensive finer than that. Higher priced issues include the 1892-O Micro O (very expensive at lower grades, extremely expensive finer than Select Uncirculated); and some New Orleans and San Francisco issues (particularly the 1904-S), expensive as MS60 and finer. Several thousand proof Barber half dollars have been certified, including Cameo and Deep Cameo pieces. Prices are moderate to Select Proof, expensive from PR64 through PR66, and very expensive finer than that. Prices of proof Barber halves are uniform from date to date, with Cameo and Deep Cameo examples listing at higher prices (higher for Deep Cameo), particularly as Gem and finer.

Specifications:
Designer: Charles E. Barber
Circulation Mintage: high 5,538,000 (1899), low 124,230 (1914)
Proof Mintage: high 1,245 (1892), low 380 (1914)
Denomination: Fifty cents (50/100)
Diameter: 30.6 mm, reeded edge
Metal Content: 90% silver, 10% copper
Weight: 12.5 grams
Varieties: Several known, most minor die variations. The 1892-O, Micro O is the best known, showing a smaller than normal O mintmark, presumably from a punch designed for the quarter rather than the half dollar.

Additional Resources:
CoinFacts: www.coinfacts.com
Coin Encyclopedia: www.ngccoin.com
The Complete Guide to Barber Halves. David Lawrence Feigenbaum. DLRC Press.
The Complete Guide to Certified Barber Coinage. David Lawrence Feigenbaum and John Feigenbaum. DLRC Press.
The Authoritative Reference on Barber Half Dollars. Kevin Flynn. Brooklyn Gallery.
The Official Red Book: A Guide Book of United States Coins. R.S Yeoman (author), Kenneth Bressett (editor). Whitman Publishing.
A Guide Book of United States Type Coins. Q. David Bowers. Whitman Publishing.
The Experts Guide to Collecting & Investing in Rare Coins. Q. David Bowers. Whitman Publishing.
Walter Breen’s Encyclopedia of U.S. Coins. Walter Breen. Doubleday.

Last Updated : 02/15/2009

Photos used with permission and courtesy of Heritage Auction Galleries

Description:
The Coinage Act of February 21, 1853, established the prevalence of fiat coinage for this nation; that is, the value stamped on a coin was what the government said it was, not necessarily the value of the material from which that coin was made. Maintaining parity between the face value and the metal value of silver and gold coins had been a constant balancing act, and the discovery of immense quantities of gold in California in 1848 and subsequent years disrupted that balance. Gold became plentiful but silver supplies remained more-or-less constant, with the result that gold’s value declined relative to silver and the price of silver rose. With the face value of circulating silver coins less than the value of the silver in those pieces, silver coins disappeared from circulation in the early 1850s, either melted as bullion or hoarded.

To address the problem, Mint Director George N. Eckert reduced the weight of the half dime, dime, quarter, and half dollar (but not the dollar, which remained at the old bimetallic standard) so that melting would no longer be profitable, a change authorized by the February Act. To distinguish the new dimes from the old heavier coins, the only change made by Chief Engraver James B. Longacre was the addition of an arrow on each side of the date. Arrows appeared on dimes from 1853 through 1855; 1853-dated dimes were produced both without arrows and with arrows. James Ross Snowden became Mint Director in 1853 and removed the arrows from 1856 dimes, presumably because by then most of the older heavyweight coins had been removed from circulation, either melted or put away for safekeeping. All dimes produced from 1856 to the end of the type used the same design as the 1840 to 1853 pieces without arrows, but at the lower weight.

On the obverse a full-length representation of Liberty wears long, flowing robes and is seated on a rock, head turned back to her right. Her left arm is bent and holds a pole topped by a Liberty cap. The right arm extends down at her side, hand supporting a Union shield across which is a slightly curved banner displaying LIBERTY. The date is at the bottom, below the rock upon which Liberty rests, and is flanked on either side by a single short arrow pointing away from the date. Inside dentils along the raised rim 13 stars form a partial circle, seven to the left of Liberty, one between Liberty’s head and the Liberty cap, and five to the right.

The reverse has a concentric circle formed by UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, broken at the bottom by the ribbon that ties the ends of two branches. The branches form another circle inside the text, though the ends are slightly separated at the top, and in the center is the denomination of ONE DIME, each word on a separate line. A circle of dentils is placed to the inside of the raised rim. Arrows at Date dimes were produced at Philadelphia (all three years) and New Orleans (1853 and 1854); the O mintmark is located below DIME and above the bow at the top of the ribbon.

A few hundred circulation strike Drapery, Arrows dimes are listed in census/ population reports, including a very few prooflike pieces, though only about 150 coins are certified for 1855. Prices are moderate through MS64, expensive as Gem and finer; 1853-O pieces are expensive as MS60 and finer. Proof examples of the type are rare, with fewer than 25 certified pieces for each date. Some pieces are designated as Cameo. All proof dimes of the type are expensive to very expensive.

Specifications:
Designer: Robert Ball Hughes and James B. Longacre, after Christian Gobrecht, from a Titian Peale/ Thomas Sully design
Circulation Mintage: high 12,078,010 (1853), low 1,100,000 (1853-O)
Proof Mintage: high 30 (1855, estimated), low 10 (1853, estimated)
Denomination: Ten cents (10/100)
Diameter: 17.9 mm; reeded edge
Metal Content: 90% silver, 10% copper
Weight: 2.49 grams
Varieties: A few known, most minor die variations.

Additional Resources:
CoinFacts: www.coinfacts.com
Coin Encyclopedia: www.ngccoin.com
The Official Red Book: A Guide Book of United States Coins. R.S Yeoman (author), Kenneth Bressett (editor). Whitman Publishing.
A Guide Book of United States Type Coins. Q. David Bowers. Whitman Publishing.
United States Coinage: A Study by Type. Ron Guth and Jeff Garrett. Whitman Publishing.
The Experts Guide to Collecting & Investing in Rare Coins. Q. David Bowers. Whitman Publishing.
The U.S. Mint and Coinage. Don Taxay. Arco Publishing
Walter Breen’s Encyclopedia of U.S. Coins. Walter Breen. Doubleday.

Last Updated : 02/15/2009