Standing Liberty Quarter
| United States | |
| Value | 25 cents (.25 US dollars) |
|---|---|
| Mass | 6.25 g |
| Diameter | 24.3 mm |
| Edge | reeded |
| Composition | .900 silver, .100 copper |
| Silver | .18084 troy oz |
| Years of minting | 1916–1930 |
| Mint marks | D, S. Found immediately to the right of the lowest of the left-hand column of stars on the obverse (to the left of Liberty's feet.) Philadelphia Mint specimens lack mint mark. |
| Obverse | |
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|
| Design | 1916 version |
| Designer | Hermon MacNeil |
| Design date | 1916 |
| Design discontinued | 1916 |
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|
| Design | Type 1 |
| Designer | Hermon MacNeil |
| Design date | 1917 |
| Design discontinued | 1917 |
 |
|
| Design | Type 2 |
| Designer | Hermon MacNeil |
| Design date | 1917 |
| Design discontinued | 1924 |
 |
|
| Design | With recessed date |
| Designer | Hermon MacNeil |
| Design date | 1925 |
| Design discontinued | 1930 |
| Reverse | |
 |
|
| Design | 1916 version |
| Designer | Hermon MacNeil |
| Design date | 1916 |
| Design discontinued | 1916 |
 |
|
| Design | Type 1 |
| Designer | Hermon MacNeil |
| Design date | 1917 |
| Design discontinued | 1917 |
 |
|
| Design | Type 2 |
| Designer | Hermon MacNeil |
| Design date | 1917 |
| Design discontinued | 1930 |
The Standing Liberty quarter was a 25-cent coin struck by the United States Mint from 1916 to 1930. It succeeded the Barber quarter, which had been minted since 1892. Featuring the goddess of Liberty on one side and an eagle in flight on the other, the coin was designed by sculptor Hermon Atkins MacNeil.
In 1915, Director of the Mint Robert W. Woolley set in motion efforts to replace the Barber dime, quarter, and half dollar, as he mistakenly believed that the law required new designs. MacNeil submitted a militaristic design that showed Liberty on guard against attacks. The Mint required modifications to the initial design, and MacNeil's revised version included dolphins to represent the oceans. In late 1916, Mint officials made major changes to the design without consulting MacNeil. The sculptor complained about the changes after receiving the new issue in January 1917. The Mint obtained special legislation to allow MacNeil to redesign the coin as he desired. One change made by the sculptor was the addition of a chain mail vest that covered Liberty's formerly bare breast.
In circulation, the coin's date wore away quickly, and Mint engravers modified the design to address the issue in 1925. The Standing Liberty quarter was discontinued in 1931, a year in which no quarters were struck. By Congressional act the Washington quarter, featuring the first president's profile was introduced in 1932 to celebrate the bicentennial of his birth.
On September 26, 1890, the United States Congress passed an act providing:
The Director of the Mint shall have power, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, to cause new designs ... to be prepared and adopted ... But no change in the design or die of any coin shall be made oftener than once in twenty-five years from and including the year of the first adoption of the design ... But the Director of the Mint shall nevertheless have power, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, to engage temporarily the services of one or more artists, distinguished in their respective departments of art, who shall be paid for such service from the contingent appropriation for the mint at Philadelphia.
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