Barber Quarter

The Barber Quarter was issued between 1892 and 1916 and has a current melt value of $14.38

As part of the aftermath of the Coinage Act of 1890, the silver coins, the dime, quarter and half dollar, were all redesigned. These designs, were done by then U.S. Mint Chief Engraver, Charles E. Barber for whom this series of coins is named. The Barber series of coins was issued from 1892 until 1916, although no half dollars were minted in 1916. The Barber Quarter was replaced in 1916 by the Standing Liberty Coin when the Barber Quarter was “retired” after a 25 year run.

There became a consistent public call to replace the Seated Liberty Quarter in the late 1880’s since that series of coinage had been in use since the 1830’s. Coin specifications were established over the previous years by government regulation such as the Coinage Act of 1834 and the Coinage Act of 1872. This meant the Barber Quarter was 90% silver and 10% copper with a diameter of 24.3 millimeters and a weight of 6.3 grams.

The Barber Quarters were minted at Philadelphia, New Orleans and San Francisco as well as Denver. However, production of Barber Quarters from the Denver Mint didn’t begin until 1906 and production at the New Orleans Mint ceased in 1909 when it was shut down. While common Barber Quarters in Good condition run in the $10 to $20 range for commons, there are notable exceptions with additional value, mostly due to low mintages. These are the 1897-S and 1914-S which run in the $70 range and the 1896-S in the $1000 range for Good, the 1913-S in the $1700 range and, of most note, the 1901-S in the $6000 range for Good and a huge step to around $13,000 for Very Good. The reason for the majorly increased value for the 1901-S is due to the fact that only 72,664 Barber Quarters were minted in San Francisco that year.

Standing Liberty Quarter

Standing Liberty Quarters currently have a melt value of $14.38

The Coinage Act of 1890 gave the director of the mint “permission” to change the design of U.S. coins without requiring prior congressional approval. While this wasn’t required, then U.S. Mint director Robert W. Woolley felt a design change was necessary and, since prior Presidential administrations pushed to have the non-silver coins redesigned and issued, designs to replace the Barber dime, quarter and half dollar were sought. After several design changes, the design for the quarter by Hermon Atkins MacNeil were approved. The Standing Liberty Quarter was issued from 1916 through 1930.

There were three significant design changes during the mintage of the Standing Liberty Quarter. The first design changes occurred in 1917 and affected both sides of the coin. The most major redesign was the redistribution of the 13 stars on the reverse from 7 on the left and 6 on the right (Type 1) to 5 on each side and 3 under the eagle and the relocation of the eagle to accommodate 3 stars underneath. The other design change in 1917 was the addition of chain mail to cover Lady Liberty’s bare breast on the obverse. These changes culminated the Type 2 Standing Liberty Coin. 1925 saw the third design change which then became the Type 3. The area around the date was redesigned since the date wore rapidly on the previous designs.

The Standing Liberty Quarter adhered to government regulation as to metal content. It is 90% silver and 10% copper. They are 24.3 millimeters in diameter and weigh 6.3 grams. They were minted in Denver, Philadelphia and San Francisco and the mint mark is located just above and to the left of the date on the obverse. While most Standing Liberty Coins in average circulated condition are in the $20-$50 range (with 1928 and later in the $10 range), there are some rarities. The quarters struck in 1916 and the 1918/7-S doubled die are amongst the rarest and command the highest prices. However, there are a few years/mintages that also command a somewhat higher price than commons do. These are the 1919-D and 1919-S which run in the $150 range and the 1921 and 1923-S Standing Liberty Quarters which are in the $400 range for average circulation quality.

Washington Quarter

Of all the U.S. coins, the Washington Quarter has been, in all its incarnations, perhaps the most distributed coin in history. First minted in 1932, the Washington Quarter remained essentially unchanged until 1965 when the metal content was changed. From 1965 until 1998, with the exception of the Bi-centennial reverse coins minted in 1975-1976, the overall design still remained the same. From 1999 until 2008, the Mint produced the 50 states quarters with an updated obverse and reverses featuring each state. Every state was featured as well as the District of Columbia and the U.S. Territories with mint runs for each. From 2010 until current, Washington Quarters have the same obverse as the 1999+ quarters but have new reverses featuring some feature of the U.S. These are known as the “America The Beautiful” series which will consist of 56 quarters and will run through 2021.

The overall specifications for the Washington Quarter have changed little over the years. They are all 24.3 millimeters in diameter which hasn’t changed since their introduction in 1932. From 1932 through 1964, the metal composition was the government regulated 90% silver/10% copper and weighed 6.3 grams. From 1965 to current, the “clad” metal content of 75% copper/25% nickel and a 100% copper core has been used. This changed the weight to 5.7 grams.

The Washington Quarter has been pretty much continuously minted in Denver and Philadelphia as well as San Francisco. However, starting in 1968, San Francisco minting runs have been strictly for proofs. Also, while the 90%/10% silver coins were replaced in 1965, 40% silver clad proof bi-centennial quarters were produced in 1975 and 1976 and silver proof Washington Quarters were produced from 1992 to 1998. From 1999 through 2009, 40% silver clad Washington Statehood and Washington Territories Quarters were produced as well. Currently there are Silver Proof Sets featuring the “America The Beautiful” quarters which will continue through 2021. (Keep in mind while proof sets are available in silver, they are also available in clad so be aware.)