Gary's 20th Century Type Set
10c BARBER (1900-1916)

Owner Comments:

Because of mounting public dissatisfaction in the “Seated Liberty” design on our coinage, the Mint Director in 1891 commissioned a panel of 10 leading sculptors and artists to determine the best new designs for our coins. For various reasons, the panel and a subsequent public competition failed to produce adequate designs. This left the design changes to chief engraver Charles Barber and the Barber Dime began its run in 1892, continuing until 1916. This final year of issue MS-63, 1916 Barber Dime features a modest “Lady Liberty” with her hair cropped underneath a Phrygian cap, a laurel wreath on her head, and the word “Liberty” written on a band across the cap. The reverse is a continuation of James B. Longacre’s, “Cereal Wreath” design and displays a wreath of American agricultural products. Many people considered the designs on the Barber coins to be bland and uninspiring, and this prompted President Teddy Roosevelt to push for artistic design changes on our coinage. However, the design and relief of the Barber coins were such that these coins wore well, and lasted many years in circulation. The Barber dime has one major rarity in the series, the 1894-S with a mintage of just 24 coins.