Wikipedia:Today's featured article/July 29, 2013

The Barber coinage consisted of a dime, quarter, and half dollar designed by United States Bureau of the Mint Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber. They were minted between 1892 and 1916, though no half dollars were struck in the final year of the series. By the late 1880s, there were increasing calls for the replacement of the Seated Liberty design, used since the 1830s on most denominations of silver coins. In 1891, Mint Director Edward O. Leech instructed Barber to prepare new designs for the dime, quarter, and half dollar, after a public competition failed to produce suitable entries. Barber's designs were approved by President Benjamin Harrison that November. Striking of the new coins began the following January. Public and artistic opinion of the new pieces was, and remains, mixed. In 1915, Mint officials began plans to replace them when the design's minimum term expired the following year. Before the end of 1916, the Mercury dime, Standing Liberty quarter, and Walking Liberty half dollar had begun production. Most dates in the Barber coin series are not difficult to obtain, but the 1894 dime struck at the San Francisco Mint (1894-S), with a mintage of 24, is a great rarity. (Full article...)

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