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Liberty Seated
Quarter Dollar |
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1838-1891
Seated Liberty No Motto Quarter Dollars
1838-1866
For over a decade, renowned banknote plate engraver and
medalist Christian Gobrecht had been seeking a permanent
position with the Mint. By the early 1800s, however, the
nepotism permeating the Mint's employment practices was firmly
entrenched. This engraver was that mint director's nephew,
that official was another official's son, and so on.
Professionally gifted as he was, but unrelated to any
person-of-influence, Gobrecht unsuccessfully pursued the
position of chief engraver. And ironically, he was without
question, the best qualified for the job.
One of seven children of a German immigrant minister, Gobrecht
was born in 1785, in Hanover, Pennsylvania. Right away he
showed a talent for mechanics and inventions. After
apprenticing to a clock-maker, he moved to Philadelphia in
1811, and acclaim for his work as an engraver soon came to the
attention of Mint Director Robert Patterson. Gobrecht at first
declined Patterson's offer in 1817 to become Chief Engraver
Robert Scot's assistant, but when Scot died in 1823, Gobrecht
solicited President Monroe's endorsement for the vacant
position. However, Chief Coiner Adam Eckfeldt (one of many
Eckfeldts connected with U.S. coinage, both before and after
this era) used his influence to see to the appointment of
William Kneass, an engraver of lesser abilities, but whose
studio was a gathering place for prominent Philadelphians.
Finally, necessity won out over nepotism. In the summer of
1835, Kneass suffered a stroke and Gobrecht accepted the
position of assistant engraver offered by Mint Director Robert
Maskell Patterson's (brother-in-law of the previous director,
Samuel Moore, and son of Moore's predecessor, Robert
Patterson).
Gobrecht started work immediately on the task of improving and
updating the coinage. Patterson, concerned about artistic
merit on the federal coinage and influenced by the seated
goddess motifs of British designs, chose a drawing by Thomas
Sully as the model for Gobrecht to bring to life on a new
dollar coin.
After the dollar patterns were released in December, 1836, the
Mint's ongoing penchant for using the same design on all
silver coins caused Gobrecht to begin work on the other
denominations. Spending most of his time on his daily duties
of die making for the current mintage, he used what little
spare opportunities he had over the next several years to
rework the designs for the smaller coins. It was not until the
fall of 1838 that the new quarter replaced the old Capped Bust
design of John Reich and William Kneass.
On the obverse, Gobrecht used a modified version of his
Liberty, seated on a rock and surrounded by thirteen stars,
while the reverse had the Reich-Kneass eagle from the previous
issue with the denomination as QUAR. DOL. instead of the
earlier 25 C. In 1840, looking for an "improvement," Patterson
hired artist Robert Ball Hughes to rework the design. Hughes
added drapery at the elbow, and in general succeeded in
fattening the figure of Liberty. Many felt the resulting
rendition lacked the artistic merit of Gobrecht's original
and, despite problems with flat striking, which did not exist
with the 1838-39 coins, this version would remain for the rest
of the series.
Called the No Motto type because it lacked the motto IN GOD WE
TRUST (added in 1866), over 36 million coins were minted of
this variety between 1838 and 1853 and again from 1856 through
1865. It was struck at three Mints; Philadelphia (no
mintmark), New Orleans (O) and San Francisco (S). The mintmark
is on the reverse below the eagle. Mint records show that only
3,980 proofs of the type were made from 1859 onward, but proof
examples from just about every year prior to then do exist,
although they are exceedingly rare.
The first issues, referred to as the No Drapery variety, most
noticeably lacked a fold of drapery at Liberty's elbow. Issued
only in 1838 and 1839 at Philadelphia and for part of the year
1840 at the New Orleans Mint, today this variety is scarce in
all grades and very rare in mint state. At least one proof is
purported to exist, possibly from among the twenty "specimens"
sent by Patterson to Treasury Secretary Levi Woodbury in
September, 1838.
Robert Hughes's modified design issued from 1840 onward is
replete with rare dates. The major rarity is the 1842 Small
Date. Struck only in proof for inclusion in presentation sets
for dignitaries, supposedly only six specimens exist. Other
very rare dates include 1842-O Small Date, 1849-O and 1852-O.
In mint state, almost all the dates prior to 1853 are
extremely difficult to find. There are two reasons for this:
First, the weak strikes of this era made many coins look more
worn than they actually were; and second, the melting that
took place around 1853 due to the increasing value of silver
forever destroyed vast quantities of coins. Surprisingly, the
low mintage 1853 Without Arrows, which is very scarce in all
grades due to melting, exists in Superb Gem Uncirculated to
the tune of at least several pieces.
Among the later dates, the toughest to find in mint state are
the San Francisco coins from 1856-1865 and, to a lesser
extent, the Philadelphia coins of 1863-1865. When pursuing gem
specimens, type collectors will most often encounter the
Philadelphia issues of 1857, 1858, 1861 and 1862. Although
most collectors approach the Seated Liberty quarter series
from a type perspective and desire to acquire only one of each
variety, there are still some who find the challenge of
completing a date and mintmark collection compelling.
When grading this design, the high points on the obverse to
check for wear are Liberty's knee, hair and breast. On the
reverse, the areas to first show wear are the eagle's neck,
claws and the tops of the wings. Care must be taken to
differentiate between weak striking and wear, as many coins,
particularly those up through 1858, are very weakly struck.
By 1853, due to the increase in silver prices relative to
gold, the silver in the No Motto quarters was worth more than
face value. This led to their rapid disappearance from the
channels of commerce. Accordingly, Mint Director George Eckert
persuaded Congress to reduce the weight of silver coins to
preclude melting. This set the stage for the next type of
Seated Liberty quarter, the Arrows and Rays variety. The No
Motto type without arrowheads or rays would not return until
1856.
Seated Liberty Arrows & Rays Quarter Dollars
1853
By the early 1850s, the whole country was infected with "gold
fever." In fact, the California Gold Rush had captured the
attention of the entire world. From 1849 onward, vast amounts
of the precious metal entered the channels of commerce from
the new strikes in the West. With this unprecedented increase
in supply, the price of gold on world bullion markets fell,
relative to its value in silver. Conversely, silver became
worth more in terms of gold.
From 1834 to 1850, the intrinsic value of a silver dollar and
a gold dollar was almost equal. By 1851, however, the silver
in four quarters was worth $1.035 in gold and, by 1853,
reached $1.06. Silver coins were being withdrawn from
circulation and were rapidly disappearing. Melting silver in
large quantities and reselling the bullion for up to 6% more
in gold, and then continually repeating the process, was a
very profitable and seemingly endless pursuit. It is estimated
that in 1850 and 1851 alone, over $25,000,000 in silver coins
were exported.
As would happen several times in United States history, change
for retail businesses dried up. The only silver coins
available were an assortment of very worn Spanish coins and
the tiny "fish scale" three-cent pieces. These trimes had been
specifically authorized in 1851 as the nation's first
subsidiary silver coins, having a metal content below their
face value. The importance of this concept would only be
realized two years later.
Mint Director George Eckert approached Congress with a plan.
Approve a reduction in the weight of the silver coins to below
where it would be profitable to melt them. Even though this
had already been done with the trime, the idea of issuing all
silver coins this way struck Congress as "debasing the
coinage" and would, in effect, place the nation on a gold
standard. Congress was strongly against abandoning bimetallism
and was not in a position to do so, as there was no way of
telling when the ever-increasing flow of gold would end and
what the eventual relative values of silver and gold would be.
A compromise option was adopted, which included slightly
lowering the amount of silver in the fractional coinage but
keeping the old standard in the silver dollar as a symbol of
Congress' continued allegiance to bimetallism. Authorizing a
reduction in the weight of the quarter from the former 103-1/8
grains to 96 grains, the Act was signed into law on February
21, 1853 and became effective April 1. The legislation
accomplished its intended objective, for within a year the
coin shortage was over. For the first time in its history, the
country had an ample supply of small change.
The quarter then current was Christian Gobrecht's Seated
Liberty design as modified by Robert Ball Hughes. It had been
in use since 1838, replacing the Capped Bust motif, and was
very familiar to the public. The design depicted Liberty
seated on a rock, surrounded by thirteen stars and holding the
union shield along with a pole topped by a Liberty cap. On the
reverse was the inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and the
denomination QUAR. DOL., encircling an eagle clutching arrows
and branches.
Officials felt the best way to make it easy for the public to
distinguish the new lower-weight coins was to make an obvious
design change. Christian Gobrecht's replacement as chief
engraver, James Barton Longacre, accomplished this by adding
arrowheads on each side of the date and a glory of rays
emanating from the eagle on the reverse. This change was
particularly favored by the Treasury Department, whose main
concern was being able to easily distinguish the old coins
from the new. It was not immediately certain whether the new
issues would be removed when gold and silver prices
stabilized.
Mint records show that on March 3, 1853, five proof sets were
struck, consisting of half dimes, dimes, quarters and half
dollars with arrows. These sets have long been dispersed, and
the individual coins are rarely seen.
The first business strikes were released on April 26. During
the remainder of the year, 15,254,200 pieces were struck at
Philadelphia (no mintmark) and 1,332,000 pieces at New Orleans
(O). The mintmark can be found on the reverse under the eagle.
Almost all of the record mintage of Arrows & Rays quarters
went into circulation. More coins were struck that year than
all of the previous years of the series combined, which
probably accounts for why relatively few were saved. They
literally flooded out of the Mints. Circulated Philadelphia
specimens have always been common, and the variety remained in
circulation as late as the 1930s. Uncirculated examples, while
not rare, are becoming increasingly difficult to find,
especially in gem condition. Uncirculated New Orleans coins,
however, along with the unusual 1853/4 Philadelphia Mint
variety, are very rare.
Although there are a few collectors pursuing the entire Seated
Liberty quarter series by date and mint, and some seek only
New Orleans issues, demand for the Arrows & Rays quarter comes
primarily from type collectors. Perhaps the relative
difficulty of finding gem specimens today is because the
available supply of nicer coins is already tucked away in type
sets.
When grading Arrows and Rays quarters, as with the other
Seated Liberty quarters, the high points on the obverse are
Liberty's knee, hair and breast. On the reverse, the areas to
first show wear are the eagle's neck, claws and the tops of
its wings.
Early in 1854, the new Mint Director, James Ross Snowden, was
informed that impressing the rays into the reverse dies
required an extra operation and therefore more time and cost.
Ordering the removal of the rays from subsequent coinage,
Snowden effectively defined the Arrows and Rays quarter as a
one-year-only type, to be followed by the quarters of 1854-55
which included just the arrowheads. In 1856, it was felt that
even this feature was no longer needed, so the arrows were
removed.
Other changes to the Seated Liberty design included the
addition of the motto IN GOD WE TRUST in 1866 and the use of
arrows again in 1873-74 at the sides of the date, but this
time to denote an increase in weight, rather than a decrease.
The Seated Liberty quarter, in its many variations, would span
over a half century before being replaced by the Barber
quarter in 1892.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Diameter: 24.3 millimeters
Weight: 1838-53: 6.68 grams
Weight: 1856-65: 6.22 grams
Composition: .900 silver, .100 copper
Edge: Reeded
Net Weight: 1838-53: .1934 ounce pure silver
Net Weight: 1856-91: .1800 ounce pure silver
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