Barber Quarter (1892 - 1916)

Overview

The Barber Quarter is one of the most famous coins ever made in the history of American numismatics. It was a coin that was made from 1892 to 1916. This silver quarter was made by Charles E. Barber and is still liked by coin collectors. This is because it has a lot of historical value and was only made in very small numbers compared to later versions.

The obverse design of Miss Liberty depicts her with her back to the right, her hair drawn back into a Phrygian cap, and she is wearing a laurel wreath with the word "Liberty" written on a narrow band above her forehead. In addition, she is wearing a Phrygian hat. Both the design that is shown on the dime and the design that is displayed on the half dollar are fairly like this one. Six stars are positioned on the left side, seven stars are located on the right side, the phrase "IN GOD WE TRUST" is located above, and the date is located below. A heraldic eagle is represented on the reverse, which is an adaptation of the Great Seal of the United States, holding an olive branch and arrows in its claws. This version of the seal is an adaptation of the original.

For the goal of completing the type of set, the numismatist will not have a difficult time locating coins that range from Good to Fine in quality. Especially in the context of more recent releases, Very Fine coins are tough to come by, and quite Fine pieces are also quite difficult to come by.

There were four different locations where the United States Mint struck the Barber Quarter: Philadelphia (with no mintmark), Denver (with a D), San Francisco (with a S), and New Orleans (with an O stamp). One of the earliest mints in the United States was in Philadelphia. What follows is a list of some of the most significant dates:

• • The year 1896-S saw the production of only 188,039 copies of this extremely low-volume release.
• • The 1901-S Barber Quarter is the rarest and most costly of all the Barber Quarters, including just 72,664 strikes. It is also the most expensive.
• • The 1913-S issue was another low-mintage issue because there were only 40,000 copies of it printed.

The Standing Liberty Quarter took the place of the Barber Quarter in 1916. This marked the end of a time when Barber's ideas were popular. The start of a new era was marked by this event.