During the issuing years of the Liberty Seated series featuring the quarter dollar, then-Mint Director James P. Kimball made sure to mention in his 1887 annual report that the coinage of the United States was out of date in his opinion. He also stated in that report that it should be updated, enlisting Senator Justin S. Morill to come up with a bill letting the Treasury Department redesign coins without the approval of Congress as long as the current design had been used for 25 years or more. The Seated series had been around since 1837, allowing for the bill to be passed in September of 1890.
Barber or Liberty Head (1892-1916) Charles E. Barber was appointed the Chief Engraver of the United States Mint in 1869 and still held the position when the bill was...read more