Owner Comments:
In December of 1916 Herman MacNeil’s Standing Liberty Quarter replaced the Barber Quarter. MacNeil’s design featured a standing figure of Ms. Liberty formally guarding the portals of liberty. With a mintage of only 52,000, the 1916 Standing Liberty Quarter has become a scarce and expensive coin, but fortunately MacNeil’s original design, with only slight modifications, was continued for part of the following year.
Much speculation has surrounded the modification of the MacNeil’s original design in which Ms. Liberty was half clothed. For years it was assumed that there was public outrage over her nudity, but recent research by Roger Burdette has led most collectors to a different conclusion. It is now believed that Herman MacNeil modified the design in anticipation of America’s entry into World War I. In his new version MacNeil armed his heroine in a coat of chain mail in anticipation for battle.
Unfortunately MacNeil’s hasty modifications were a disastrous mistake. Although most of the “Type I” style Standing Liberty Quarters were well struck, very few of the subsequent coins (Types II and III) show all of their intended designs. These problems with the metal flow when the coins were stuck resulted in the early retirement of the design after 1930.
The present coin is a high grade, well struck example of Herman MacNeil’s original concept. It is an undipped white (untoned) coin with satiny luster, fully struck up details and strong eye appeal.