Hermon MacNeil’s Standing Liberty quarter was one of three new designs introduced for America’s silver coinage in 1916.  They were revolutionary in two ways – one was their unusually high artistic standard, which to this day is widely regarded as the pinnacle of U.S. coin design, and the second was the breaking of the long-standing tradition of the three major circulating denominations – the dime, quarter and half, all sharing a common design.

Two types of Standing Liberty quarters were made.  The first, made only in 1916 and early 1917, featured a bare-breasted figure of Liberty, and a low flying eagle on the reverse.  The design was a bit “racy” for the time, and later in 1917 Miss Liberty was provided with an armor plate to “protect” her.  Three stars were added under the eagle to better balance the reverse as well.  Another minor change was made in 1925, when the date was recessed to better protect it from wear, as the raised date seen on earlier issues was a high point, and quite vulnerable to disappearing.

Keys in the series include the first year, 1916, with a tiny mintage of only 52,000 pieces.  The overdate, 1918/7-S is tough, as are the 1921, 1923-S and 1927-S.  The head is often weakly struck, sometimes appearing completely flat, and pieces with fully-struck heads have long been highly-valued by collectors.

Full Head

Herman MacNeil’s full figure of Liberty striding forward with a shield and olive branch is an iconic design, and one of the most beautiful and admired seen on U.S. coinage.  Unfortunately, the fine details of Liberty’s head were prone to weakness, and sometimes appear flat or even “dished” in some cases.  Because this aspect of the design added a great deal of beauty to the coin, it was recognized quickly by collectors, and by the early 1950s, small premiums were being paid by collectors for Standing Liberty Quarters with fully-struck head details.

When the two major grading services opened, “FH” or Full Head were added to the grade of Standing Liberty Quarters that met the qualifications.  Note that the three leaves on her head, as well as the complete hairline behind her eye must show.  So important is this attribute that coins without a full head are sometimes sold and advertised as 50% or up to 95% Full Head.

Further Reading

In 1916 the first Standing Liberty quarters were made. Actually, the term we use today, Standing Liberty (with the "Standing" first), the arrangement used by the Guide Book, is backward from what used to be popular in the 1960s and earlier. They were always referred to as Liberty Standing quarters. Likewise, back then we had Liberty Standing half dollars. (Today we are a bit more persnickety about the situation and more accurately refer to them as Liberty Walking halves.)

Designed by Hermon A. MacNeil, this design is of a neo-classic nature. A full-length representation of Miss Liberty stands between two crenellations. On the reverse is a spread-winged eagle in flight. Quarters of this general design were made from 1916 through 1930 inclusive, a relatively short span. Two main types were made.

The first type of the Standing Liberty quarter dollar appeared in 1916 and early 1917 and portrayed Miss Liberty nude from the waist up, who MacNeil modeled from Dora Doscher, a young Philadelphia woman. Public reaction to what was intended as artistic beauty was quite unfavorable, so in a classic case of overcompensation Miss Liberty was encased in a coat of armor from late 1917 onward!  The early style quarter dollar design of 1916 and the first part of 1917 is known today as the Type I, and the latter is referred to as Type II.

Standing Liberty quarters were produced each year from 1916 through 1930 with a solitary exception of 1922. Issuance at branch mints was sporadic, and only Philadelphia pieces were made in 1916, 1921, and 1925. Otherwise, pieces were produced at Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco.