Barber Quarter

The Barber Quarter, as adopted in 1892, shows a bust of Liberty, similar to the Morgan Dollar, but facing right.

Specifications

 * Designer: Charles E. Barber
 * Obverse Design: Liberty Bust
 * Reverse Design:
 * Edge: Reeded
 * Weight: ±6.3 grams
 * Diameter: ±24.3 millimeters
 * Composition:  Silver (±90%), Copper (±10%)
 * Dates Minted: 1892-1916

Background
The Barber quarter of 1892-1916, was the last U.S. quarter of the 1800's, and the first quarter of the 1900's. It was struck during the late Victorian/Gilded Age period, when gentlemen wore derby hats and sported thick, well-groomed moustaches, while ladies wore fashionably large hats, long dresses and tight corsets that accentuated an unnatural hourglass figure.

The debut of the Barber quarter (as well as the Barber dime and half dollar) was overshadowed by two other special U.S. silver coins in 1892 and 1893: the Columbus Columbian Exposition half dollar of 1892-93, and the Isabella Columbian Exposition quarter of 1893. Were it not for these two early commemoratives, the first commemorative coins ever struck by the United States Mint, the early Barber quarters might have been saved in greater numbers, as were first-year issues of other U.S. coin types. As it was, the special Columbus half dollar and Isabella quarter received most of the collector attention. Incidentally, Charles Barber, who designed the Barber dime, quarter and half dollar, ALSO designed the Columbus Columbian Exposition half dollar.

The Barber quarter replaced the long-running Seated Liberty quarter. The Liberty bust on the Barber quarter was seen as many as heralding back to the artistry of ancient Greek or Roman coinage, though in actuality, the Barber coin Liberty bust was patterned after the head used on an 1870's silver coin of France. The new Barber coins were well-liked, though there was little gushing enthusiasm for the new design. The Barber quarter (as well as the half dollar) are notable for featuring two different types of stars: the stars on the obverse are six-pointed, while the stars on the reverse, above the eagle, are five-pointed.

History
The Barber quarter was struck at four different mints. Barber quarters were struck at the Philadelphia mint for all years 1892-1916, for all years except three (1906, 1910, 1916) at the San Francisco Mint, from 1892-1909 at the New Orleans mint, and from 1906-16 at the Denver mint. The mintmark appears on the reverse, underneath the eagle’s tail feathers, and often shows up quite tiny!

Mintages were pretty consistent for the Barber quarter– for most years, between 1 and 6 million were struck, with just a few date/mintmarks combinations being struck to the tune of 8 to 12 million or so. There are also a few date/mintmarks combinations that have mintages of under a million.

The Barber quarter was struck for most of 1916, then replaced by an even more beautiful U.S. quarter type: the Standing Liberty quarter.

Collecting
There are a dates in the Barber quarter series that are quite scarce, but as far as rarities go, the one that stands out is the 1901-S quarter. Only 72,664 were struck– a VERY low number for a relatively modern U.S. coin, and especially for a quarter! This coin retails $6,500 in Good, $16,000 in Fine. Should you come across one, make sure to have it authenticated, just to make sure someone didn’t “add” the “S” mintmark on the reverse. The same goes for the other rare date in this series, the 1913-S. This is the lowest mintage quarter in the entire series at just 40,000 struck, but apparently more of these were saved than were the slightly higher mintage 1901-S quarters. The 1913-S Barber quarter will cost you $1,300 in Good. Other tough dates in the Barber quarter series would be the 1896-S (retails $690 in Good), the 1897-S (retails $85 in Good, $275 in Fine), and the 1914-S (retails $70 in Good, $200 in Fine).

Most Barber quarter dates and mintmarks are relatively common and quite affordable. A common date will only retail $5-$9 in Good– prices for Good and Very Good common-date Barber quarters should remain fairly low as Barber quarters usually are found in this condition. It’s when you get up to the grades of Fine and Very Fine, that even common-date Barber quarters are tough to come by– ESPECIALLY problem-free pieces! A common-date Barber quarter retails anywhere from $17-$41 in Fine, $30-$65 in Very Fine. Barber quarters are not nearly as hard to find in grades of Very Fine and above as are Barber half dollars, but they are still tough to track down. The typical Barber quarter was spent and passed from hand to hand over many years, not taken out of circulation and stashed away in pristine condition.

Grading
What does a nicer grade Barber quarter look like? The Liberty bust should have eye and mouth detail. “Liberty” on the Liberty bust headband must be readable. The stars on the obverse should be well-defined, and of course, the date must be clear. On the reverse, the eagle will have eye and beak detail, as well as around 60% of its feather detail present. “E Pluribus Unum” will be fully or mostly readable on the banner in the eagle’s mouth.

About Uncirculated and basic Uncirculated Barber quarters are out there, and they are beautiful, classic pieces to own. But they will retail around $115-$225 in AU and $215-$450 in MS-60. You will have to do some shopping to find such pieces, but a Barber quarter in uncirculated or nearly-uncirculated condition usually makes collectors do a double-take.

Mints

 * Philadelphia Mint (No mintmark)
 * New Orleans Mint (O mintmark)
 * Denver Mint (D mintmark)
 * San Francisco Mint (S mintmark)