About this coin

Face value: a quarter dollar (25¢)
Collector value: minimum, the value of the silver (at least a dollar)

Take that, Europe!

This coin was first issued in 1916, when Europe was halfway through WWI. Of course, they didn't know they were halfway through and they didn't realize it was called WWI yet. Officially, America was neutral. We had just barely re-elected Woodrow Wilson under the slogan, "He kept us out of war." This coin was our way of saying, "Shoo! Scram! Vamoose! Geroff! We'll have none of it!"

F.J.H. von Engelken (there's a good Olde English name), head of the mint, described this quarter thusly: "intended to typify in a measure the awakening interest of the country to its own protection. In the new design Liberty is shown a full-length figure, front view, with head turned toward the left, stepping forward to the gateway of the country...the left arm of the figure of Liberty is upraised, bearing the shield in the attitude of protection, from which the covering is being drawn. The right hand bears the olive branch of peace."

Which sounds to me like, "stop, or we'll defend ourselves!"

Didn't do us any good, anyhow. By the following year, we were up to our necks in it.

Please don't be naked on our money. Thank you.

The original 1916 design featured a semi-nude Liberty, with one of her what-nots hanging out and a general excess of exposed ankle. I have read that there were complaints, I have read that there were not complaints. Well, there were complaints, but no-one complained in public about indecency. Bankers claimed they wouldn't stack properly (!). The designer said there were "hygiene" issues with the original design (!!). Things getting stuck in Liberty's cleavage, perhaps?

For whatever reason, there was a slight redesign in 1917. On the reverse, three stars were moved from the edge of the coin to a spot under the eagle, which was a bit more centered. There are fewer nobbles on Liberty's shield. And she's wearing armor. I can't think of anything more not-nude than chain mail. Iron t-shirt - it's the AntiNude!

There was one final redesign — a touchup really — in 1925. The date on the block under Liberty's feet, which was always the first thing to wear away, was recessed a little. This helped, though the coin was only to run another five years.

Keeping it in the fambly

Throughout the Nineteenth Century, coins were designed exclusively by employees of the mint. Any competition was purely internal, and they were scratchy about it. In 1887, Mint Director James P. Kimball wrote, "The inferiority of our coinage to the same kind of work by almost every other advanced nation of the earth seems to be keenly felt by many as unworthy of the development which the arts of sculpture and design have here attained." Or, Yipe! Our money is ugly.

In the 1890s, the mint invited ten outside artists to submit proposals for new coin designs, but the artists declined, claiming there wasn't enough time or money on offer. Next, they threw it open to a public competition, but none of the entries was good enough (no surprise there. The mint didn't float this bad scheme again until the traumatically hideous Bicentennial Quarter). William Barber, the mint's Chief Engraver, got the job by default.

Then along came Teddy Roosevelt, who bypassed the whole bureaucratic mess (typical!) and went directly to Augustus Saint-Gaudens (probably the most famous public sculptor in America) to design $10 and $20 gold pieces. After which came other artists and other coins (the Lincoln penny and buffalo nickel among them) and, in 1916 this coin, the Standing Liberty Quarter, along with the 'Mercury' head dime and the Walking Liberty Half. Never again was coin design left strictly in the hands of mint employees.

What to look for

The mint guys had a point, though. Sculptors unfamiliar with coinage are apt to make design decisions that are impractical for minting and circulation. The Standing Liberty Quarter in particular has been described in terms ranging from "vulnerable" to "ugly," because it was hard to make a perfect strike, and the coin began to show serious wear almost immediately.

The pristine coin is called "full head" because, apparently, it was difficult for the mint to get Liberty's head to come out exactly right. She's got three leaves in her hair, and they're clearly visible in the most valuable examples. The little rivets on the shield are important, too. After that, her knee and the center boss of her shield were most first to wear. And the eagle's breast.

But, you needn't worry about any of that! I'm not leaving pristine collectible Liberties in the woods, I'm leaving rotten old slugs worn down to bare nubbinses. And that's just the way I like them. I love the silky feel of thumb-polished metal and the soft sheen of old silver. This quarter is especially beautiful, I think, when the design weathers to a soft silhouette. It's like a silver-point drawing.

If no year at all is visible under Liberty's feet, the coin is probably pre-1925, when the date was sticking out just screaming to get rubbed away. If the date is invisible and there are no stars under the eagle, it's a Type 1 (the naughty Liberty) from 1916 or 1917. It's still not worth anything all crabbed up like this, but it's extra cool.

With a quarter of a billion of these quarters minted, they can't be described as rare. Not in this condition, anyhow. But I can't bear to call them junk silver, either. Standing Liberties were only minted for 14 years, quite a short run for modern American currency. This would have been the quarter most in circulation when my dad was a pup. It's an especially pretty coin from that funny slice of time between the two Wars.

Enjoy!

I've got a fistful of coins I carry around in a little leather pouch, until now including these half dozen Standing Liberty Quarters. I like to finger them in idle moments (my goodness, that does make me sound crazy). I hope you enjoy the coin as much as I have. Do let me know if it goes on to further adventures. Address correspondence to: coins@FieldNotebook.com.