The initial design featured Lady Liberty with an exposed right breast, but the sculptor MacNeil revised his original design in 1917 and clothed Liberty in a chainmail top. law required the inclusion of an eagle on all denominations of coins from quarters on upwards.ĭue to Mint production delays, the new design did not start getting produced until the winter of 1916, resulting in a series-low mintage of 52,000 1916-dated coins. The coin's reverse features an eagle in flight, as another U.S. The coin's obverse features Lady Liberty striding forward, holding an olive branch in one hand and a shield in the other - symbolizing that America wanted peace, but was ready to defend herself if necessary. Liberty holds her shield pointed to the heraldic east, in the direction of Europe. In 1916 when the coin was first produced, America had not yet entered the war and still held an isolationist stance. MacNeil's design was heavily symbolic, intended to represent an American response to the start of World War I. MacNeil's submission won the Mint's approval. Satisfied with the other new designs of coins, the Mint again turned to professional sculptors to draft the new quarter design. The Barber designs outlasted all of those coins due to an archaic law preventing coin designs from being changed until 25 years after their start date. The Lincoln cent and Buffalo nickel designs were launched soon after. Mint released new designs for the $20 gold Double Eagle denomination and the $10 gold Eagle (designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens), as well as the $5 gold Half Eagle and $2.50 gold Quarter Eagle (the Indian Head design by Bela Lyon Pratt). The Standing Liberty Quarter was created in 1916 to replace the Barber Quarter design, a design of Mint Chief Engraver Charles Barber that had been used on quarters, dimes, and half dollars since 1892.īarber's low-relief design was ideal for efficiently producing large numbers of coins at a low cost, but the basic, spartan design was unpopular with the public.Īfter his election to the presidency, Theodore Roosevelt took an active interest in modernizing the nation's coin designs on more artistic lines, deeming the existing designs to be of "atrocious hideousness."Īs a result of his efforts, the U.S. In this article, I’ll provide a quick history of the Standing Liberty Quarter, along with a grading guide, a list of key-dates, and a price guide. Though it was only produced for 15 years, the series is full of valuable key-dates and interesting varieties. The Standing Liberty Quarter, immediate predecessor of the Washington Quarter, has long been considered one of the most beautiful U.S.
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