The Standing Liberty Quarter was designed by Hermon Atkins MacNeil, an American sculptor. The design features a depiction of Lady Liberty standing with a shield in her left hand and an olive branch in her right, symbolizing preparedness and peace. The initial design included an exposed breast on Liberty, which caused some controversy and was later modified to show her wearing a chain mail vest. The design was well-received and became highly regarded for its artistic quality.
The Standing Liberty Quarter was first released into circulation in 1916. The coin was introduced to replace the Barber Quarter design, which had been in use since 1892. The initial mintage of the Standing Liberty Quarter was relatively low, with only 52,000 coins produced at the Philadelphia Mint. Due to the low mintage and the popularity of the design, the 1916 Standing Liberty Quarter is highly sought after by collectors.
In 1917, the design of the Standing Liberty Quarter underwent a modification to address the issue of the coin's vulnerability to wear and excessive dates. The date on the original design was located on the obverse (front) side of the coin and was raised, making it prone to wear. The design was altered to recess the date below the surface of the coin, providing it with greater protection.
The Standing Liberty Quarters were minted at three different locations: Philadelphia (no mintmark), Denver (D mintmark), and San Francisco (S mintmark). The mintmarks can be found on the obverse side of the coin, below the motto "In God We Trust."
The production of Standing Liberty Quarters continued until 1930. However, by the late 1920s, the Great Depression had taken hold, and there was a decline in demand for coins. As a result, the mintages of Standing Liberty Quarters were relatively low in the later years of production. In 1931, the design was replaced by the Washington Quarter, which is still in use today.
The Standing Liberty Quarter is a numismatic treasure that represents a significant era in American coinage design. Its elegant and artistic portrayal of Liberty continues to captivate collectors and enthusiasts to this day.
Key Dates
1916: The first year of issue for the Standing Liberty Quarter is highly coveted by collectors. It had a low mintage of only 52,000 coins, making it one of the scarcest dates in the series. The 1916 Standing Liberty Quarter is known for its unique design features, including the exposed breast on Lady Liberty, which was later modified.
1918/7-S: This variety of the 1918-S Standing Liberty Quarter is considered one of the major rarities in the series. It is the result of a minting error where the die was overdated, creating the appearance of a "7" over the original "8" in the date. Only a few hundred of these coins were produced, making it highly sought after by collectors.
1921: The 1921 Standing Liberty Quarter is another key date in the series. It has a relatively low mintage of approximately 1.9 million coins.
1923-S: The 1923-S Standing Liberty Quarter is one of the scarcest issues in the series. It had a low mintage of around 1.36 million coins, and only a small number of well-preserved examples are known to exist today. This date is highly sought after by collectors due to its rarity and the challenge of finding it in high grades.
1927-S: The 1927-S Standing Liberty Quarter is another key date known for its low mintage. Only about 396,000 coins were produced at the San Francisco Mint that year.
No comments:
Post a Comment