The Barber Quarter was struck on planchets containing the regular silver composition at the time, consisting of 90% silver and 10% copper. The pieces have a diameter of 24.3 mm and weight of 6.25 grams. The mintmark for the branch mints is placed on the reverse, under the tail of the eagle. These are “D” for the Denver Mint, “O” for the New Orleans Mint, and “S” for the San Francisco Mint. Pieces struck at the Philadelphia Mint do not contain a mark.
Collecting the series in circulated grades has become especially popular, although the design wears unevenly and many pieces have been cleaned and dipped. As such, original pieces in VF to EF grades command strong pieces over general coins of the same grade. It must be noted that for grading these pieces, the word LIBERTY is not as suitable to use as in indicator of condition. The relief of the design caused the word on Liberty’s hair band to wear off rather quickly, and even EF pieces with a full LIBERTY are scarce.
Dates: 1892-1916
Mint Mark: none (Philadelphia), D (Denver), O (New Orleans), S (San Francisco)
Composition: 90% silver, 10% copper
Weight: 6.25 grams
Diameter: 24.3 mm
Edge: reeded
Designer: Charles E. Barber
