Coin Collecting at the Safir House The Standing Liberty Quarter

1916 and 1917 marked the high point of the US Coin revolution that Theadore Roosevelt kicked off with his redesign of the Double Eagle Gold Dollar, which followed changes in all the gold coin currency, and then the Cent (Lincoln), Nickel (Buffalo), the Dime (Mercury), and finally the Walking Liberty Half and the Standing Liberty Quarter.

Of them all, the most contriversal for the public seemed to be the Quarter. For starters the coin seemingly had public nudity with a nipple showing by Lady Liberty. This nearly perfect specimen, a coin of my dreams, shows the possibly inappropriate cleavage that had all of the Victorian and Guilded Aged a stir.

Furthermore, to make everything more interesting, the coin wasn't just any Miss Liberty, but speculation as to who modeled for the coin which really drove the gossip circuits. Edwardian America in the early decades seemed sexualy repressed only with volcanic fits of Voyerism. Lead by artist models and film beauties, the American Queens of this period who could be speculated to have posed of this bare breasted coin could have include Evelyn Nesbit who brilliant architect Stanford White was shot dead in the face over, Audrey Munson, who was the model for the Mercury Dime which apeared at this period and who was familiar with the artist Hermon Atkins MacNeil who designed the coin, and who was also associated with a more complex situation involving a lover and a murder, the more prolific of all the models of this period to only die in a mental hospital where she lived for over 60 years when she died at the age of 105.

Despite the turn of the century rumour mill that surrounded this coin, historically speaking MacNeil most likely used either Doris Doscher or Irene MacDowell. Dorcher was a professional model, but MacDowell, a family friend and was prefered by MacNeil, but not his wife. In order to avoid anyone getting shot, its possible that the Doscher story was a ruse made for his wife's benifit. It is most likely a composite of them both, and perhaps why the head on the SLQ is a little unspecific in its details.

The Standing Liberty Quarter, Mercury Dime and Walking Liberty Half dollar were all part of a competition for new designed announced by the mint in 1915. All three designs were strongly influenced by the work done by Saint Gauden on the American Double Eagle Gold coins. The dramatic sweeping detail, and focus on design movement gave these coins a theaterical flare which makes them very popular with collectors.

But after about 6 months of our Liberty Nymph triumpnatly posed astride our quarter design, the more conservative forces of Edwardian Society began to protest. Anthony Comstock's Society for the Suppression of Vice, an organization strongly in need of an acronym, His organization pelted Secretary of the Treasury, Bill McAdoo with commplaints. But even prior to this MacNeil and Mcado had worked on coin redesign to make the coin more resiliant to wear and part of this redesign was the addition of the chain mail to Liberty, turning our Nymph into a Knight of Freedom overnight. Hence, we have two designs for the Standing Liberty Quarter, a Type one from the rare 1916 patterns that found their way into circulation, and the early 1917 series. From the second half of 1917 on until 1930 the TypeII design was in circulation.

We only have two examples of a Standing Liberty Quarter up to this point, a situation I'll be hoping to correct as time goes forward. Here is the Obverse and Reverse of the Type I 1917. This is one of raw coins I've collected over the years. I leave it to you to decide on a grade.

Obverse 1917 Type I Standing Liberty Quarter Dollar
This is another very close shot of the Obverse of this coin

Reverse of the 1917 Type I Standing Liberty Quarter

This is the Type II 1929-D, not a particularly pretty coin in perhaps VG conditions.

1929 D Obverse Standing Liberty Quarter Type II

Reverse Type II 1929-D Standing Liberty Quarter

Here is a nice Type II 1925 Very Fine circulated Standing Liberty Quarter

1925 Standing Liberty Quarter Obverse Great Detail including the shield, soft cloth, panels and stars. This example looks almost painted.

1925 Standing Liberty Quarter Reverse Notce the full feathered wings of the soaring eagle.

This example which has been added to the collection in November of 2008 is a very fine example of a 1930 Standing Liberty Quarter, nearly in mint condition and arguably a full head with great tone. One of the nicest Standing Liberty Quarters I'd had a chance to aquire at a reasonable cost, this coin should probably go out to be slabbed in the future. In fact the luster is so good for this coin I made a movie of it to view how light dances off the surface of this nice example.




All of these SLQ Obverses are the same quarter and there are other worthy pictures of this coin. When I get a nice coin like this I just can't resist photographing it and there are many more decent pictures of this coin which I had to cull from this site, but worth looking at.
See the more here of this SLQ 1930
See the more here of this SLQ 1930
See the more here of this SLQ 1930
See the more here of this SLQ 1930
See the more here of this SLQ 1930






Movie Showing Luster
Movie Showing Luster

1917 with a wonderful strike




Movie of Coin
Movie of Coin

• Visual Comparison of Type I and Type II SLQ
• History of the Standing Liberty Quarter
• Original Bronze Cast of the Coin as it originally designed by MacNeil
• Encyclopedia Entry
• Review of Standing Liberty Quarters by PCGS
• Standing Liberty Quarter Key Dates

Avoid Gijs Henzen, owner of Munthandel G. Henzen - Antisemetic Facists

The Safir Family Internet Coin Library. Nearly all the coins here have been stolen. If you have any information on the theft, please contact us at mrbrklyn@panix.com Click to see these examples show below including photography: note to lawyer: most of the good stuff is gone Section I: US Coints Large Cent Coppers Flying Eagle Cents Lincoln Cents and Wheat Backs Buffalo Nickels Jefferson Nickels Jefferson Silver War Nickels Bust Half Dimes Mercury (Liberrty Head) Dimes Roosevelt Dime Barber Quarter Dollars Standing Libery Quarter Washington and Washington State Quarters Cap Bust Half Dollars 1813 o.108 AU58 Cap Bust Half Providence Powell. 1818 MS63 Cap Bust Half 1833 MS63 Cap Bust Half Seated Half Dollars Barber Half Dollars Walking Liberty Half Dollars Franklin Half Dollars Kennedy Half Dollars Morgan Silver Dollars Peace Silver Dollars Eisenhower Clad and Silver Dollars Sacawagea Golden Dollars Modern Silver and Clad Proof Sets Modern American Silver Eagle uncirculated mint coins and proofs Modern Silver and Clad 2008 Commorative Bald Eagle Series Gold Coins - Not too many Circulated US Silver Coins prior to 1964 Go To Section II: Modern and Ancient Foreign Coins from Outside The United States Go To Section III: Mandy's 25th Anniversary World Wildlife Fund Silver Coins Unsorted Extra stuff: Bust US Coinage From the coin Show at Melville Long Island Article on Numismatics and Lobbying

The Safir Family Internet Coin Library: Foriegn Coins. Several mints from around the world make exciting coin designs in circulating alloys, silver and gold. Among my favorites are the Perth Mint in Austrailia which produces a variety of coins for nations mostly through out the Pacific Rim. The Neatherlands has also produced some interesting designs, and several private US based mints have produced foreign currency on contract, include the Franklin Mint which has produced many Israeli Coins. Our interest in foreign coins has been nominal but rapidly growing as it seems that US designs are so stuck in the mud. Also, foreign mints are creating bold new designs with color and bimetal designs that are both eye catching and fun. Dutch Scheepjesschelling Biblical Coins overview Australian Silver Koala Australian Kookaburra Silver Australian Perth Mint Reef II Sea Life Silver Hawkbill Turtle Australian Perth Mint Reef II Sea Life Series Octopus Australian Perth Mint Reef II Sea Life Series Starfish Australian Perth Mint Reef II Sea Life Series Surgeon Fish Australian Perth Mint Reef II Sea Life Series Manta Ray Australian Perth Mint Silver Cockatoo Parrot Australian Perth Mint Dollar Silver Dugong Britain Churchill Crown 1965 British Wren Type Farthings Britain Virgin Island $25 Golden Osprey Cayman Islands Cuban Amazon Parrot: 25 Anniversity World Wifelife Fund Chinese Silver Panda Easter Islands Fiji Island Turtle Bullion minted in New Zealand German 10 Euro Archeopteryx Coin Indo-Sassanian Gadhaya Paisa Saurastrat - Silver Coin Israeli Coins Japanese Aomori Coin Judean Roman Wars Judean Herodian Coinage Kashmir Kurdistan Macabean Coins Netherlands Architecture Commemerative Euro Netherlands 400 years since the discovery of Manhattan Commem Netherlands Predecimal Steivers New Zealand 1963 One Florin New Zealand 1996 Kaka Parrot $5 Silver Dollar Niue Island Artist Series: Van Gogh Niue Island Cave of Chauvet Portugal Coa Valley Archeological Site Coin Polish Food for All Commemerative - First Food Slovakia Chatam Sofer Commem Tuvalu Deadly and Dangerous Silver Blue Ringed Octopus Tuvalu Deadly and Dangerous Silver Funnel-Web Spider Uraguay 1969 FAO Pattern Coins Western Satraps 1st Century - 2nd Centry India -R-Drachm Israeli Akko, Birds, Red Sea and Elijah Coins. Perth Minti Kookabura and Koalas, and Van Gogh Coin from Niue Island More Birds and some half dimes half dimes More International Birds

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