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118-517: The 5 1/2-year depression following the Panic of 1873 caused cheap-money advocates (led by Representative Richard P. Bland , a Democrat of Missouri ), to join with silver-producing interests in urging a return to bimetallism , the use of both silver and gold as a standard. Coupled with Senator William B. Allison of Iowa, they agreed to a proposal that allowed silver to be purchased at market rates, metals to be minted into silver dollars, and required

236-497: A heraldic eagle , based on the Great Seal. The bird holds in its mouth a scroll inscribed " E Pluribus Unum " and in its right claws an olive branch; in its left it holds 13 arrows. Above the eagle are 13 five-pointed stars; it is surrounded by the name of the country and by the coin's denomination. The reverse of the dime depicts a wreath of corn, wheat, maple and oak leaves surrounding the words "One Dime". Barber's monogram "B"

354-559: A 'reigning belle' of New York, she can hardly be called a beauty; there is a suggestion ... of the classic heads on some of the Roman coins, and a much stronger suggestion of the head on the French Francs of 1871 and onward ... these coins are an advance on what has hitherto been accomplished, but there is yet a long distance between them and the ideal National coin." Other reactions were unfavorable. Artist Kenyon Cox, one of

472-470: A contest in which only the winner received compensation, Leech offered a $ 500 prize to the winner, and no payments to anyone else. He sought new designs for both sides of the dollar, and for the obverses of the half dollar, quarter, and dime—Leech was content to let the reverses of the Seated Liberty coins continue. By law, an eagle had to appear on the quarter and half dollar, but could not appear on

590-454: A contraction of the money available for business lending. One of the more famous private individuals who went bankrupt in 1873 was Stephan Keglevich of Vienna, a relative of Gábor Keglevich, who had been the master of the royal treasury (1842–1848) and in 1845 had cofounded a financial association to fund the expansion of Hungarian industry and to protect the loan repayments, similar to the 1870 Kreditschutzverband , an Austrian association for

708-416: A days-long standoff at Camden Yards . In New York, striking workers began pelting arriving trains with thrown objects, prompting a response from local police. Pennsylvania saw perhaps the worst violence of the railroad strikes; see Pittsburgh railroad strike of 1877 , Reading Railroad massacre and Scranton general strike . In Chicago, Illinois , striking workers brought freight and passenger trains to

826-509: A depiction of Liberty similar to that on the French coins of the period; he was content that the current reverses be continued. Leech had previously suggested to Barber that he engage outside help if the work was to be done at the Mint; the chief engraver replied that he was aware of no one who could be of help in the preparation of new designs. Leech had spoken with Saint-Gaudens on the same subject;

944-418: A few lessons in modeling. It is beneath criticism ... There are hundreds of artists in this country, any of whom, with the aid of a designer, could have made a very respectable coin, which this is not." Soon after issuance of the new quarters, the Mint received complaints that they would not stack properly. Barber made adjustments in his design to remedy this problem. Accordingly, there are two versions of

1062-628: A group of collectors founded the Barber Coin Collectors Society, a nonprofit organization "dedicated to furthering the knowledge of coins designed" by Charles E. Barber and William Barber . The organization publishes a quarterly journal, and holds an annual meeting in conjunction with the American Numismatic Association World's Fair of Money. According to Burdette, "agitation to replace Barber's banal 1892 Liberty head began almost before

1180-453: A jury consisting of Saint-Gaudens, Barber, and Henry Mitchell, a Boston seal engraver and member of the 1890 Assay Commission . The committee met in June 1891 and quickly rejected all entries. Leech was quoted in the press regarding the result of the contest: It is not likely that another competition will ever be tried for the production of designs for United States coins. The one just ended

1298-660: A liberty pole; an eagle spreading its wings stands behind her. The reverse utilized the heraldic eagle from the Great Seal of the United States , enclosed inside a thick oak wreath, with the required legends surrounding the rim. Leech rejected the design, and Barber submitted a revised obverse in mid-September with a head of Liberty similar to that on the adopted coin. Leech got feedback from friends and from Secretary Foster; on September 28, he wrote Barber that Liberty's lips were "rather voluptuous" and directed him to prepare

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1416-403: A new half dollar hub was introduced, which made the headband word "Liberty" stronger, thus changing a grading diagnostic. Earlier Barber halves are frequently separately graded for their obverse and reverse characteristics, as the reverse tended to wear faster. Finally, large quantities of lower grade Barber coins were melted for bullion when silver prices rose in 1979 and early 1980 . In 1989,

1534-573: A new railway line was extended in 1873 from the Vienna– Trieste line to Rijeka (Fiume), making it possible to go by tram from there to Opatija. The strong increase of port traffic generated a permanent demand for expansion. The Suez Canal was opened in 1869. 1875–1890 became "the golden years" of Giovanni de Ciotta in Rijeka. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 was one of the causes of

1652-489: A number of unfavorable reviews, without listing any favorable ones. Vermeule stated that "the initial comment on the new coinage concerned the novelty of a contest, its failure, and the inevitable result that the commission would go, as always, to the Chief Engraver [Barber] and his staff." George Heath, editor of The Numismatist , discussed the new pieces: "the mechanical work is all that could be desired, and it

1770-549: A redesign in the 20th century. As the 1916 date approached when the Barber coins could be changed without an act of Congress, calls for a new design increased. In 1915, a new Mint director, Robert W. Woolley , took office. Woolley advocated the replacement of the silver coins when it was legal to do so, and instructed Barber and Morgan to prepare new designs. He consulted with the Commission of Fine Arts , asking them to examine

1888-456: A reverse without the wreath. Barber did so, and pattern coins based on the revised design were struck. Barber complained, in a letter on October 2 to Superintendent Bosbyshell, but intended for Leech, that the constant demands for changes were wasting his time. Leech replied, stating that he did not care how much effort was expended in order to improve the design, especially since, once issued, they would have to be used for 25 years. Barber's reply

2006-677: A series of economic setbacks: the Black Friday panic of 1869 , the Chicago fire of 1871 , an outbreak of equine influenza and the Boston fire of 1872 , and the demonetization of silver in 1873 . The decision of the German Empire to cease minting silver thaler coins in 1871 caused a drop in demand and downward pressure on the value of silver, which, in turn, affected the US since much of

2124-452: A standstill, leading to an order from judge Thomas Drummond that such actions were illegal. The United States Marshals Service responded by arresting dozens of strikers. In Missouri, strikers also brought rail traffic to a halt, and at least 18 people died in conflicts. In July 1877, the market for lumber crashed, leading several Michigan lumber companies to go bankrupt. Within a year, the effects of this second business slump reached all

2242-638: Is a great rarity. Charles E. Barber was born in London in 1840. His grandfather, John Barber, led the family to America in the early 1850s. Both John and his son William were engravers and Charles followed in their footsteps. The Barber family initially lived in Boston upon their arrival to the United States, though they later moved to Providence to allow William to work for the Gorham Manufacturing Company . William Barber's skills came to

2360-543: Is on the cutoff of Liberty's neck; the mint mark, on the dime, is placed beneath the wreath on the reverse and beneath the eagle on the larger denominations. Barber's head of Liberty is purely classical, and is rendered in the Roman style. The head is modeled after the French " Ceres " silver coinage of the late 19th century, but bears a resemblance to Morgan's design for the silver dollar. This did not escape numismatist Walter Breen in his comprehensive guide to U.S. coins: "Barber must have been feeling unusually lazy. He left

2478-520: Is one of the great numismatic rarities, with a published mintage of 24 proof pieces. Various stories attend the question of how so few came to be coined. According to Nancy Oliver and Richard Kelly in their 2011 article for The Numismatist , the San Francisco Mint in June 1894 needed to coin $ 2.40 in silver left over from the melting of worn-out coins, just enough to coin 24 dimes. More ten-cent pieces were expected to be struck there later in

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2596-517: Is probable that owing to the conventional rut in which our mint authorities seem obliged to keep, this is the best that could be done". W.T.R. Martin wrote in the American Journal of Numismatics , "The general effect is pleasing, of the three the Dime is to many the most attractive piece. The head of Liberty is dignified, but although the silly story has been started that the profile is that of

2714-585: The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) cut workers' pay for the third time in a year. West Virginia Governor Henry M. Mathews sent the militia, under Colonel Charles J. Faulkner , to restore order but was unsuccessful, largely because the militia sympathized with the workers. The governor called on US President Rutherford B. Hayes for federal assistance, and Hayes dispatched federal troops. That restored peace to Martinsburg but proved controversial, with many newspapers critical of Mathews' characterization of

2832-738: The Barber coinage began in 1892. Panic of 1873 The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain . In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the " Long Depression " that weakened the country's economic leadership. In the United States ,

2950-814: The Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871), and major property losses in the Great Chicago Fire (1871) and the Great Boston Fire (1872) helped to place massive strain on bank reserves , which, in New York City , plummeted from $ 50 million to $ 17 million between September and October 1873. The first symptoms of the crisis were financial failures in Vienna , the capital of Austria-Hungary , which spread to most of Europe and to North America by 1873. The panic and depression hit all of

3068-614: The Grant administration to develop a coherent policy on the Southern states, and the North began to steer away from Reconstruction . With the depression, ambitious railroad building programs crashed across the South, leaving most states deep in debt and burdened with heavy taxes. Retrenchment was a common response of the South to state debts during the depression. One by one, each state fell to

3186-481: The Latin Monetary Union in 1873 to suspend the conversion of silver to coins. The American Civil War (1861–1865) was followed by a boom in railroad construction. 33,000 miles (53,000 km) of new track were laid across the country between 1868 and 1873, with much of the craze in railroad investment being driven by government land grants and subsidies to the railroads. The railroad industry

3304-472: The Liberty Head nickel , entered production in 1883. The new coin had its denomination designated by a Roman numeral "V" on the reverse; the three-cent coin had always had a "III" to designate its denomination. Enterprising fraudsters soon realized that the nickel and half eagle (or five-dollar gold piece) were close in size, and plated the base metal coins to pass to the unwary. Amid public ridicule of

3422-554: The National Numismatic Collection and none are in private hands. On December 11, Bosbyshell requested a delay in production to mid-January 1892 to allow the dies to be more thoroughly tested; Leech refused. The first Barber coins were struck at the Philadelphia Mint on January 2, 1892, at 9:00 a.m. By the end of the day, all three denominations had been coined. All three denominations of

3540-482: The 1870s, embracing many economic interventionist policies, including high tariffs, nationalization of railroads, and compulsory social insurance. The political and economic nationalism also reduced the fortunes of the German and Canadian classical liberal parties. France, like Britain, also entered into a prolonged stagnation that extended to 1897. The French also attempted to deal with their economic problems by

3658-441: The 1890 act. Before his death in 1907, the sculptor provided designs for the double eagle and eagle , though the double eagle required adjustment by Barber to lower the relief before it could be released as a circulating coin. Redesign of the smaller gold pieces , Lincoln cent , and Buffalo nickel followed between 1908 and 1913. By then, the dime, quarter, and half dollar were the only coins being struck which had not received

Bland–Allison Act - Misplaced Pages Continue

3776-460: The 1891 competition turned the two against each other for the rest of their lives. Frustrated at the competition's outcome, Leech instructed Barber on June 11, 1891, to prepare designs for the half dollar, quarter, and dime. As the Morgan dollar was then being heavily struck, the Mint director decided to leave that design unaltered for the time being. For the obverse of the new coins, Leech suggested

3894-607: The 1892 quarter, dubbed "Type I" and "Type II", both for the version without mint mark struck at Philadelphia and for those struck at the New Orleans Mint (1892-O) and the San Francisco Mint (1892-S). They may be distinguished by their reverses: Type I quarters have about half of the letter "E" in "UNITED" covered by the eagle's wing; with Type II quarters, the letter is almost entirely obscured. Type I quarters are rarer for each mint. The 1894-S Barber dime

4012-410: The Barber coinage depict a head of Liberty, facing right. She wears a pileus and a small headband inscribed "Liberty". On the quarter and half dollar, the motto "In God We Trust" appears above her head; she is otherwise surrounded with 13 six-pointed stars and the date. On the dime, her head is surrounded with "United States of America" and the year. The reverse of the quarter and the half dollar depicts

4130-533: The Bland–Allison Act and the acceptance of the gold standard formed the monetary stability in the late 19th century. The limitation placed on the supply of new notes and the Treasury control over the issue of new notes allowed for economic stability. Prior to the acceptance, the devaluation of silver forced local governments into a financial turmoil. In addition, there was a need for money supply to increase as

4248-451: The Bland–Allison Act of 1878 directed the Treasury to purchase silver from the "best-western" miners, President Grover Cleveland repealed the act in 1893. Advocates of free silver included owners of silver mines in the West, farmers who believed an inclusion of silver would increase crop prices, and debtors who believed it would alleviate their debts. Although the free silver movement ended,

4366-532: The Democrats in the South, and the Republicans lost power. The end of the crisis coincided with the beginning of the great wave of immigration to the United States , which lasted until the early 1920s. After the 1873 depression, agricultural and industrial groups lobbied for protective tariffs . Conservative politicians such as Otto von Bismarck shifted from classical liberal economic policies in

4484-518: The Emperor-King Franz Joseph of Austria , resolved the question of the competing projects. Although the collapse of the foreign loan financing had been predicted, the events of that year were in themselves comparatively unimportant. Buda , the old capital of Hungary, and Óbuda were officially united with Pest , thus creating the new metropolis of Budapest in 1873. The difference in stability between Vienna and Berlin had

4602-579: The German economy was exacerbated by the conclusion of war reparations payments to Germany by France in September 1873. Two years after the foundation of the German Empire, the panic came and became known as the Gründerkrach or "Founders' Crash". In 1865, Keglevich and Strousberg had come into direct competition in a project in what is now Slovakia. In 1870 the Hungarian government, and in 1872

4720-523: The Mint lacked the claimed authority. All three men worked to secure a bill to authorize new designs: Morrill by introducing and pressing legislation, Kimball by lobbying for the authority in his annual report, and Gilder by orchestrating favorable coverage. With legislators busy with other matters, it was not until September 26, 1890, that President Benjamin Harrison signed legislation making all denominations of U.S. coins available for immediate redesign by

4838-658: The Mint upon obtaining the Secretary of the Treasury's approval. Each coin could thereafter be altered from the 25th year after it was first produced; for example, a coin first struck in 1892 would be eligible for redesign in 1916. Three days before the signing of the 1890 act, Barber wrote to the superintendent of the Philadelphia Mint , Oliver Bosbyshell , setting forth proposed terms of a competition to select new coin designs. Barber suggested that entrants be required to submit models, as opposed to drawings, and that

Bland–Allison Act - Misplaced Pages Continue

4956-502: The Mint was planning to generate the new designs in-house, feeling that the Mint, essentially a factory for coins, was ill-equipped to generate artistic coin designs. Due to Gilder's prominence in the coinage redesign movement, Leech felt the need to respond personally, which he did in early August. He told Gilder that "artistic designs for coins, that would meet the ideas of an art critic like yourself, and artists generally, are not always adapted for practical coining". He assured Gilder that

5074-544: The Mint's authority to produce new designs. The Mint had claimed authority under the Coinage Act of 1873 in issuing the Morgan dollar in 1878 and the Liberty Head nickel in 1883. Morrill was a supporter of coin redesign and had in the past introduced bills to accomplish this; he felt, however, that this could not be done without an act of Congress. Kimball submitted the issue to government lawyers; they indicated that

5192-537: The Mint, production came to a halt until Barber hastily added the word "cents" to the reverse of his design. For much of the second half of the 19th century, most U.S. silver coins bore a design of a seated Liberty . This design had been created by Christian Gobrecht , an engraver at the United States Mint in Philadelphia, after a sketch by artist Thomas Sully , and introduced to U.S. coins in

5310-606: The Mint. In early December 1879, Treasury Secretary John Sherman , Mint Director Horatio Burchard , and Philadelphia Mint Superintendent A. Loudon Snowden met to determine the issue. They decided to recommend the appointment of Barber, who was subsequently nominated by President Rutherford B. Hayes and in February 1880, was confirmed by the Senate. Barber would serve nine presidents in the position, remaining until his death in 1917, when Morgan would succeed him. Coinage redesign

5428-807: The Panic of 1873 because goods from the Far East had been carried in sailing vessels around the Cape of Good Hope and were stored in British warehouses. As sailing vessels were not adaptable for use through the Suez Canal (because the prevailing winds of the Mediterranean Sea blow from west to east), the British entrepôt trade suffered. When the crisis came, the Bank of England raised interest rates to 9 percent. Despite this, Britain did not experience

5546-579: The Panic was known as the "Great Depression" until the events of 1929 and the early 1930s set a new standard. The Panic of 1873 and the subsequent depression had several underlying causes for which economic historians debate the relative importance. American inflation , rampant speculative investments (overwhelmingly in railroads ), the demonetization of silver in Germany and the United States, ripples from economic dislocation in Europe resulting from

5664-511: The US Treasury to purchase between $ 2 million to $ 4 million silver each month from western mines. President Rutherford B. Hayes , who held interests in industrials and banking, vetoed the measure, which was overturned by Congress. As a result, the Hayes administration purchased the limited amount of silver each month. This act helped restore bimetallism with gold and silver both supporting

5782-461: The United States and several European colonies caused the panic of 1873 and thus a decline in the value of silver relative to gold, devaluing India's standard currency. This event was known as " the fall of the rupee ". In the Cape Colony , the panic caused bankruptcies, rising unemployment, a pause in public works, and a major trade slump that lasted until the discovery of gold in 1886. In

5900-465: The United States attempted to establish bimetallic standards in the long run. Western miners and debtors regarded the Bland–Allison Act as an insufficient measure to enforce unlimited coinage of silver, but opponents repealed the act and advocated for the gold standard . The effect of the Bland–Allison act was also blunted by the minimal purchase of silver required by the Hayes administration. Although

6018-457: The West, and the ratio of the gold price to the silver price increased from 16-to-1 in 1873 to nearly 30-to-1 by 1893. The term limping bimetallism describes this problem. The U.S. government finally ceded to pressure from the western mining states and the Bland–Allison Act went into effect in 1878. The law was replaced in 1890 by the similar Sherman Silver Purchase Act , which in turn was repealed by Congress in 1893. These were two instances where

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6136-466: The [dime] rev[erse] design as it had been since 1860, with minor simplifications. His obv[erse] was a mirror image of the Morgan dollar head, with much of Miss Anna Willess Williams ' back hair cropped off, the rest concealed ... within a disproportionately large cap." In his text introducing the Barber quarter, Breen states, "the whole composition is Germanically stolid, prosy, crowded (especially on rev[erse]), and without discernible merit aside from

6254-408: The act was a near turning point for bimetallism , gold continued to be favored over the bimetallism standard. Throughout 1860 to 1871, several attempts were made by the Treasury to establish the bimetallic standard by having gold and silver dollar coins. However, the discovery of silver led to an influx of supply, lowering the price of silver. The eventual removal of the bimetallic standard, including

6372-401: The appearance of tokens or mean medals. One reason for this is that the design is so inartistic, and so insignificant. That young woman sitting on nothing in particular, wearing nothing to speak of, looking over her shoulder at nothing imaginable, and bearing in her left hand something that looks like a broomstick with a woolen nightcap on it—what is she doing there? Public dissatisfaction with

6490-460: The artistic differences between the two men: It is likely they were so far apart in their artistic understanding that neither listened to what the other had to say ... Barber was from the English trades-apprentice approach where engraving and die sinking were crafts closely aligned to other metal workers such as machine tool makers. His father and grandfather were both engravers. Saint-Gaudens

6608-452: The attention of Mint Chief Engraver James B. Longacre , who hired him as an assistant engraver in 1865; when Longacre died in 1869, William Barber became chief engraver and Charles was hired as an assistant engraver. William Barber died on August 31, 1879, of an illness contracted after swimming at Atlantic City, New Jersey . His son applied for the position of chief engraver, as did George T. Morgan , another British-born engraver hired by

6726-692: The basic industries of coal, iron and steel, engineering, and shipbuilding, especially in 1873, 1886, and 1893. From 1873 to 1896, a period sometimes referred to as the Long Depression , most European countries experienced a drastic fall in prices. Still, many corporations were able to reduce production costs and achieve better productivity rates with industrial production increasing by 40% in Britain and by over 100% in Germany. A comparison of capital formation rates in both countries helps to account for

6844-458: The clouds; the following day, Leech ordered working dies prepared. Barber scaled down his design for the quarter and dime. While the Cabinet approved the designs, members requested that the Mint embolden the words "Liberty" on the obverse and "E Pluribus Unum" on the reverse, believing that these legends would wear away in circulation; despite the resulting changes, this proved to be accurate. For

6962-517: The coinage could easily be made more beautiful. The visitors left disappointed, after learning that Burchard considered the much-criticized Morgan dollar as beautiful as any of them. In 1885, Burchard was succeeded as Mint director by James Kimball . The new director was more receptive to Gilder's ideas and in 1887 announced a competition for new designs for the non-gold coinage. These plans were scuttled when Vermont Senator Justin Morrill questioned

7080-468: The coinage in the year of the Fair's opening". Leech released the new designs to the press about November 10, 1891. According to numismatist David Lange, the new coinage received mixed reviews: "while the general press and public seemed satisfied with the new dime, quarter dollar, and half dollar, numismatists were either mildly disappointed with the new coins or remained silent on the matter." Moran records

7198-454: The credit system expanded and large banks established themselves across states. In addition, the priority that was placed on the coinage of silver dollars left very little available silver for the coinage of silver coins of lesser denominations, particularly half dollars and quarters. As a result, these coins had extremely low mintages (fewer than 5,000 half dollars were struck in 1879, 1882, and 1884, and 5,000 quarters were struck in 1886) until

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7316-493: The currency. However, gold remained heavily favored over silver, paving way for the gold standard. The free-silver movement of the late 19th century advocated the unlimited coinage of silver, which would have resulted in inflationary monetary policy . In 1873, Congress had removed the use of silver dollar from the list of authorized coins under the Coinage Act of 1873 (referred to by opponents as 'the Crime of '73'"). Although

7434-566: The debate of inflation and monetary policy continues to this day. The Fourth Coinage Act acknowledged the gold standard over silver. Those who advocated for silver labeled this act as the Crime of '73 . As a result of demonetized silver, gold became the only metallic standard in the United States and became the default standard. The price of gold was more stable than that of silver, largely due to silver discoveries in Nevada and other places in

7552-462: The design's minimum term expired in 1916. The Mint issued Barber dimes and quarters in 1916 to meet commercial demand, but before the end of the year, 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,

7670-432: The designs be in low relief, which was used for coins. He proposed that the entries include the lettering and denomination, as submissions without them would not adequately show the appearance of the finished coin. He received a reply that due to other work, the Mint would not be able to address the question until the spring of 1891. On October 16, 1890, a new Mint director, Edward O. Leech , took office. Leech, aged 38 at

7788-493: The designs produced by the Mint's engravers and, if they felt they were not suitable, to recommend artists to design the new coins. The Commission rejected the Barber and Morgan designs and proposed Adolph Weinman , Hermon MacNeil , and Albin Polasek as designers. Although Woolley had hoped that each artist would produce one design, different concepts by Weinman were accepted for the dime and half dollar , and one by MacNeil for

7906-408: The designs which Barber had already prepared had met with the approval of Mitchell, though Leech himself had some improvements to suggest to the chief engraver. Barber's first attempt, modeled for the half dollar, disregarded Leech's instructions. Instead of a design based on French coinage, it depicted a standing figure of Columbia , bearing a pileus (a crown fashioned from an olive branch) atop

8024-495: The deteriorating financial conditions created solvency problems for life insurers. The common factor of the surviving companies was that all marketed tontines . The failure of Jay Cooke's bank and soon afterward of Henry Clews ' set off a chain reaction of bank failures and temporarily closed the New York Stock Exchange . Factories began to lay off workers as the country slipped into depression. The effects of

8142-400: The dies. San Francisco Mint officials wanted permission to use the old dies, which was refused, as it was felt that all mints should be producing coins with the same specifications. There are small differences between quarters produced at the different mints. Except for the 1894-S dime, there are no great rarities in the Barber series, as mintages were generally adequate to high. Key dates for

8260-509: The different industrial growth rates. During the depression, the British ratio of net national capital formation to net national product fell from 11.5% to 6.0%, but the German ratio rose from 10.6% to 15.9%. During the depression, Britain took the course of static supply adjustment, but Germany stimulated effective demand and expanded industrial supply capacity by increasing and adjusting capital formation. For example, Germany dramatically increased investment of social overhead capital , such as in

8378-404: The dime include the 1895-O (with the lowest mintage), 1896-S, 1897-O, 1901-S and 1903-S. For the quarter, key dates are the very low mintage 1896-S, 1901-S, and 1913-S issues, with the 1901-S particularly scarce. The rarest half dollar is the 1892-O "Micro O", in which the mint mark "O" for New Orleans was impressed on the half dollar die with a puncheon intended for the quarter; other key dates are

8496-456: The dime. Most of the artists conferred in New York and responded in a joint letter that they would be willing to participate, but not on the terms set. They proposed a competition with set fees for sketches and designs submitted by the invited artists, to be judged by a jury of their peers, and with the Mint committed to replace the Seated Liberty coins with the result. They also insisted that

8614-573: The dollar. The railroad industry in the United States had seen major growth in the decades before 1873, driven in part by strong European interest in bonds issued by railroad companies. The failure of Jay Cooke & Co., heavily invested in railroad bonds, triggered a crisis in the railroad industry. In 1877, steep wage cuts led American railroad workers to launch the series of protests and riots later dubbed Great Railroad Strike . Initial protests broke out in Martinsburg, West Virginia , after

8732-410: The domestic money supply , raising interest rates and hurting farmers and others who normally carried heavy debt loads. The resulting outcry raised serious questions about how long the new policy would last. The perception of US instability in its monetary policy caused investors to shy away from long-term obligations, particularly long-term bonds . The problem was compounded by the railroad boom, which

8850-586: The effect that the French indemnity to Germany flowed into Austria and Russia, but the indemnity payments aggravated the crisis in Austria, which had benefited by the accumulation of capital not only in Germany but also in England, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Russia. Recovery from the crash occurred much more quickly in Europe than in the United States. Moreover, German businesses managed to avoid

8968-527: 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 , having been authorized by Congress to approve coin redesigns, ordered a competition, seeking a new look for the silver coins. As only the winner would receive a cash prize, invited artists refused to participate and no entry from

9086-543: The first coins were cold from the press." In 1894, the American Numismatic and Antiquarian Society , in conjunction with various artistic and educational institutes, began to advocate for better designs for U.S. coins, but no change took place in the remainder of the 19th century. In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt started to push for improvements to U.S. coins, and arranged for the Mint to engage Saint-Gaudens to redesign coins which could be changed under

9204-623: The implementation of tariffs. New French laws in 1880 and in 1892 imposed stiff tariffs on many agricultural and industrial imports. The U.S., still in the period after the Civil War , continued to be very protectionist . Barber coinage The Barber coinage consists 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

9322-486: The industrial nations. A similar process of overexpansion took place in Germany and Austria-Hungary, where the period from German unification in 1870 and 1871 to the crash in 1873 came to be called the Gründerjahre ("Founders' Years"). A liberalized incorporation law in Germany gave impetus to the foundation of new enterprises, such as Deutsche Bank , and the incorporation of established ones. Euphoria over

9440-636: The introduction of the gold mark on 9 July 1873 as the currency for the newly united Reich, replacing the silver coins of all constituent lands. Germany was now on the gold standard . Demonetization of silver was thus a common element in the crises on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean . On 9 May 1873, the Vienna Stock Exchange crashed since it was unable to sustain the bubble of false expansion, insolvencies, and dishonest manipulations. A series of Viennese bank failures ensued, causing

9558-417: The invited artists to the 1891 competition, stated, "I think it disgraceful that this great country should have such a coin as this." Harper's Weekly proclaimed, "The mountain had labored and brought forth a mouse." Saint-Gaudens was also interviewed, and as author Moran put it, "injudiciously ranted": "This is inept; this looks like it had been designed by a young lady of sixteen, a miss who had taken only

9676-399: The late 1830s. The design reflected an English influence, and as artistic tastes changed over time, was increasingly disliked in the United States. In 1876, The Galaxy magazine said of the then current silver coins: Why is it we have the ugliest money of all civilized nations? The design is poor, commonplace, tasteless, characterless, and the execution is like thereunto. They have rather

9794-427: The management of electric power transmission lines, roads, and railroads, thereby stimulating industrial demand in that country, but similar investment stagnated or decreased in Britain. The resulting difference in capital formation accounts for the divergent levels of industrial production in the two countries and the different growth rates during and after the depression. The discovery of large quantities of silver in

9912-441: The military victory against France in 1871 and the influx of capital from the payment by France of war reparations fueled stock market speculation in railways, factories, docks, steamships; the same industrial branches that expanded unsustainably in the United States. In the immediate aftermath of his victory against France , Bismarck began the process of silver demonetization. The process began on 23 November 1871 and culminated in

10030-575: The money supply and thus raising interest rates made matters worse for those in debt. Businesses were expanding, but the money they needed to finance that growth was becoming scarcer. Cooke and other entrepreneurs had planned to build the second transcontinental railroad, the Northern Pacific Railway. Cooke's firm provided the financing, and ground for the line was broken near Duluth, Minnesota , on 15 February 1870. The railroad had borrowed more than $ 1.5 million from Cooke & Co, but

10148-406: The nation's railroads had failed, and another 60 had gone bankrupt by the first anniversary of the crisis. Construction of new rail lines, formerly one of the backbones of the economy, plummeted from 7,500 miles (12,100 km) of track in 1872 to just 1,600 miles (2,600 km) in 1875, and 18,000 businesses failed between 1873 and 1875. Unemployment peaked in 1878 at 8.25%. Building construction

10266-503: The newly-issued Morgan dollar led the Mint's engravers to submit designs for the smaller silver coins in 1879. Among those who called for new coinage was editor Richard Watson Gilder of The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine . Sometime in the early 1880s, he, along with one of his reporters and sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens visited Mint Director Burchard to argue for the creation of new designs. They brought along classic Greek and Roman coins in an attempt to persuade Burchard that

10384-403: The obverse and five-pointed ones on the reverse. Barber had prepared three versions of the design, each with clouds over the eagle; Leech approved one on October 31 and ordered working dies prepared, but then began to question the presence of the clouds, and had two more versions made. On November 6, President Harrison and his Cabinet considered which of the designs to approve, and chose one without

10502-414: The other two until 1954. One of the approximately nine known dimes was retrieved from circulation in 1957, and Breen speculated this may have been the ice cream specimen. One sold for $ 1,552,500 at auction in 2007. In 1900, Barber modified the dies. This change resulted in quarters that were thinner, so that 21 of the new coins would stack in the space occupied by 20 of the old. Barber again set to work on

10620-500: The overall tone was argumentative. Leech chose not to write again; he addressed one concern, about whether the olive branches in the design were rendered accurately, by visiting the National Botanical Garden , obtaining one, and sending it to Barber. The question of how to render the stars (representing the 13 original states) on the coin was posed in the letters; in the end, Leech opted for six-pointed stars on

10738-548: The panic were quickly felt in New York (where 25% of workers became unemployed) and more slowly in Chicago, Virginia City, Nevada (where silver mining was active), and San Francisco. In New Hampshire, state coffers were so depleted by lost tax revenue the state government turned to private interests including tea and gunpowder manufacturer D. Ralph Lolbert for financial support. The New York Stock Exchange closed for ten days starting on 20 September. By November 1873, some 55 of

10856-604: The periphery, the Ottoman Empire 's economy also suffered. Rates of growth of foreign trade dropped, external terms of trade deteriorated, declining wheat prices affected peasant producers, and the establishment of European control over Ottoman finances led to large debt payments abroad. The growth rates of agricultural and aggregate production were also lower during the Long Depression than the later period. The general demonetization and cheapening of silver caused

10974-473: The protection of creditors and the interests of its members in cases of bankruptcy. That made it possible for a number of new Austrian banks to be established in 1873 after the Vienna Stock Exchange crash. In Berlin, the railway empire of Bethel Henry Strousberg crashed after a ruinous settlement with the government of Romania , bursting the speculation bubble in Germany. The contraction of

11092-590: The public into silver coins , but it would still mint silver dollars for export in the form of trade dollars . The Act had the immediate effect of depressing silver prices, hurting Western mining interests, who labeled the Act "The Crime of '73", but its effect was offset somewhat by the introduction of a silver trade dollar for use in Asia and the discovery of new silver deposits at Virginia City, Nevada , that resulted in new investment in mining activity. The Act also reduced

11210-498: The public proved suitable. Leech instructed Barber to prepare new designs for the dime, quarter, and half dollar, and after the chief engraver made changes to secure Leech's endorsement, they were approved by President Benjamin Harrison in November 1891. 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 once

11328-476: The quarter. Woolley had hoped to begin production of the new coins on July 1, 1916. There was heavy demand for small change, and as delays in actual production stretched into the second half of the year, Woolley was forced to have Barber prepare dies for 1916-dated dimes and quarters bearing the chief engraver's 1892 design. According to numismatist David Lange, "Barber must have secretly smiled to himself as his familiar Roman bust of Liberty once again dropped from

11446-538: The regular 1892-O, 1892-S, 1893-S, 1897-O, 1897-S, 1913, 1914, and 1915. The last three dates have very low mintages but were preserved in substantial numbers. As half dollars were heavily circulated, prices tend to steeply rise for all coins in higher grades. "Condition rarities", relatively common and inexpensive in circulated condition but costly in high grades, include the 1901-S, 1904-S, and 1907-S half dollars. Thus, although most dates are easily obtainable, many are scarce in higher and uncirculated grades. Also, in 1909,

11564-468: The reverse of the dime, on which, by law, an eagle could not appear, a slight modification of the reverse of the Seated Liberty dime was used, with a wreath of foliage and produce surrounding the words "One Dime". It is uncertain when pattern dimes and quarters were struck, but this was most likely in mid-November 1891. One variety each of pattern dime and quarter are known, whereas five different half dollars are extant; all known Barber coin patterns are in

11682-422: The same artist create both sides of a given coin, and that more time be given to allow the development of designs. Leech was unable to meet these terms, as there was only enough money available for the single prize. In addition to inviting the ten artists, he had sent thousands of solicitations through the country; a number of designs were submitted in response to the circulars. To judge the submissions, he appointed

11800-542: The scale of financial mayhem seen in America and Central Europe, perhaps forestalled by an expectation that the liquidity-constraining provisions of the Bank Charter Act of 1844 would be suspended as they had been in the crises of 1847, 1857, and 1866. The ensuing economic downturn in Britain seems to have been muted – "stagnant" but without a "decline in aggregate output". However, there was heavy unemployment in

11918-675: The sculptor stated that only four men in the world were capable of executing high-quality coin designs; three lived in France and he was the fourth. Leech announced the decision to have Barber do the work in July, stating that he had instructed the engraver to prepare designs for presentation to Secretary of the Treasury Charles Foster . In a letter printed in the New York Tribune , Gilder expressed disappointment that

12036-593: The sort of deep wage cuts that embittered American labor relations. There was an anti-Semitic component to the economic recovery in Germany and Austria, as small investors blamed Jews for their losses in the crash. The Neuer Social-Demokrat newspaper of the ADAV published several articles blaming Gerson von Bleichröder for the stock market crash. An October 29 article called Bleichröder "Bismarck's Jew". Soon, more luxury hotels and villas were built in Opatija , and

12154-516: The strikes as an "insurrection", rather than an act of desperation and frustration. One notable paper recorded a striking worker's perspective that he "had might as well die by the bullet as to starve to death by inches". Within a week, similar protests had erupted in other cities. In Baltimore, Maryland where strikers set fire to buildings owned by B.& O. Railroads and an outnumbered militia guard division opened fire when they were surrounded by rioters, killing 10 and injuring 25 more leading to

12272-464: The supply of silver was mined there . As a result, the US Congress passed the Coinage Act of 1873 , which changed the national silver policy. Before the Act, the US had backed its currency with both gold and silver and minted both types of coins. The Act moved the United States to a de facto gold standard , which meant it would no longer buy silver at a statutory price or convert silver from

12390-661: The technical one of low relief". Burdette terms Barber's designs, "typically mediocre imitations of the current French-style—hardly better than the arcane seated Liberty type they replaced". Art historian Cornelius Vermeule , in his work on U.S. coins, took a more positive view of Barber's coinage: "the last word as to their aesthetic merits has yet to be written. Little admired or collected for more than three generations after their appearance [writing in 1971], these essentially conservative but most dignified coins have suddenly become extremely popular with collectors". Vermeule argued that "the designs of Barber's coins were more attuned to

12508-571: The time, had spent his career at the Bureau of the Mint, and was an enthusiastic supporter of redesign. He took the precaution of obtaining recommendations from Barber as to suitable outside artists who might participate in a competition. Since most of the proposed artists were New York-based, Andrew Mason, superintendent of the New York Assay Office , was given the task of finalizing the list of invitees. Leading Mason's list of ten names

12626-543: The times than he perhaps realized. The plumpish, matronly gravitas of Liberty had come to America seven years earlier in the person of Frédéric Bartholdi 's giant statue [the Statue of Liberty ] ... " He suggested that the features of Daniel Chester French 's huge statue Republic , created for the World Columbian Exposition , "were absolutely in harmony with what Charles Barber had created for

12744-664: The way to California. The depression ended in the spring of 1879, but tension between workers and the leaders of banking and manufacturing interests lingered on. Poor economic conditions also caused voters to turn against the Republican Party . In the 1874 congressional elections , the Democratic Party assumed control of the House for the first time since the Civil War. Public opinion made it difficult for

12862-426: The year, but this did not occur. Breen, on the other hand, related that San Francisco Mint Superintendent John Daggett had the dimes struck for a group of banker friends, giving three to each. He also gave three to his young daughter Hallie, telling her to retain them until she was as old as he was, and she would be able to sell them for a good price. According to the story, she spent one on a dish of ice cream, but kept

12980-400: Was a classically trained sculptor who began his career as an apprentice cameo cutter in New York, later moving to Paris and Rome for extensive training while perfecting his artistry. Barber generally worked in small, circular formats—a three-inch medal was a large size for his sculptures. Saint-Gaudens was uncomfortable with small medals and typically designed life-size or larger figures ...

13098-451: Was being considered during Barber's early years as chief engraver. Superintendent Snowden believed that the base-metal coins then being struck (the one-, three-, and five-cent pieces) should have uniform designs, as did many of the silver pieces, and also some gold coins. He had Barber create experimental pattern coins . In spite of Snowden's desires, the only design modified was that of the five-cent coin, or nickel ; Barber's design, known as

13216-594: Was halted, wages were cut, real estate values fell, and corporate profits vanished. In 1874, Congress passed "the Ferry Bill" to allow for the printing of currency, increasing inflation and reducing the value of debts. The bill was vetoed by President Grant. The following year, Congress passed the Specie Resumption Act of 1875 , which would back United States currency with gold. Backing American currency with gold helped curb inflation and stabilize

13334-528: Was incapable of paying it back. An expanding funding gap became harder to resolve due to the Credit Mobilier scandal . Due to the financial crises in Europe, Cooke could not sell the securities abroad. Just as Cooke was about to swing a $ 300 million government loan in September 1873, reports circulated that his firm's credit had become nearly worthless. On 18 September, the firm declared bankruptcy. Many US insurance companies went out of business, as

13452-443: Was that of Saint-Gaudens. Mason sent Leech the recommendations on April 3, 1891; the following day, the Mint director announced the competition, open to the public, but he specifically invited the ten artists named by Mason to participate. Besides Saint-Gaudens, artists asked to compete included Daniel Chester French , Herbert Adams and Kenyon Cox . Although Barber had warned the director that reputable artists would likely not enter

13570-418: Was the largest employer outside agriculture in the US and involved large amounts of money and risk. A large infusion of cash from speculators caused spectacular growth in the industry and in the construction of docks, factories, and ancillary facilities. Most capital was involved in projects offering no immediate or early returns. A period of economic overexpansion arose from the northern railroad boom before

13688-631: Was then in its later stages. In September 1873, the US economy entered a crisis. In September 1873, Jay Cooke & Company , a major component of the country's banking establishment, found itself unable to market several million dollars in Northern Pacific Railway bonds. Jay Cooke 's firm, like many others, had invested heavily in the railroads. Some investment banks were then anxious for more capital for their enterprises, US President Ulysses S. Grant 's monetary policy of contracting

13806-501: Was too wretched a failure ... The result is not very flattering to the boasted artistic development of this country, inasmuch as only two of the three hundred suggestions submitted were good enough to receive honorable mention. Barber wrote years later about the competition, "many [entries] were sent in, but Mr. St. Gaudens, [ sic ] who was appointed one of the committee to pass upon designs, objected to everything submitted". Numismatic historian Roger Burdette explained

13924-470: Was transmitted to Leech on October 6 with a cover letter from Acting Superintendent Mark Cobb (Bosbyshell was traveling) stating that Barber "disclaims any intention to be captious and certainly did not intend to question your prerogative as one of the officers designed by law to pass upon new designs for coinage". The letter from Barber was a lengthy technical explanation for various design elements, and requested further advice from Leech if he had preferences;

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