Barber creates quite unusual design for half dollar
The first plaster crafted by the chief engraver was a far cry from the Mint director’s requirements. Author R.W. Julian writes that Barber’s first plaster (cataloged as J-1766 in J. Hewitt Judd’s United States Pattern Coins), dated 1891, “seems to have been based on the famous Una and the Lion five pound gold coin of 1839 issued for Queen Victoria.”
However, it strongly suggests the British Trade dollar circulating in Asia at the time. It presents a standing figure of Liberty (or is it Columbia?) holding sway with a sword in her right hand; in her left is a pole topped with a liberty cap. Behind her is a partially hidden eagle, facing right; its body, however, resembles that of a plump turkey. The rim is dotted with stars and the word LIBERTY, with stars between each letter. The words IN GOD WE TRUST are placed among the rays shining from the celestial Liberty.
The reverse of this first attempt at a new half dollar is an explosion of numismatic devices. The legend United States of America, along with the value Half Dollar decorates the rim. Add to that an agricultural wreath. Plop inside the wreath a small (baby?) Heraldic Eagle—with a shield upon its breast and holding arrows in one talon and a wretched-looking branch in the other. The eagle is quite adept at multi-tasking: it also holds a banner reading E Pluribus Unum. Above its head are stars and circular clouds; rays shoot up into the wreath. More rays shoot downward from the eagle’s wings into the wreath. It looks like the 4th of July down on the farm!
For some reason, the mint director rejected this version. For the next pattern, as required by Leech, Barber adapted a French interpretation of Liberty. The 5-franc silver coin from the mid 1800s appears to have been his inspiration. That version pleased Leech; the reverse, however, still similar to the first, did not meet his expectations. Leech wrote to Barber with his criticism of the eagle side (J-1765).
Final versions of the half dollar patterns (J-1762 and J-1763) were sent to Washington, D.C., for review by President Benjamin Harrison and his Cabinet. They chose the design without clouds, feeling that they did not appear at all cloud-like. President Harrison requested a better-defined Liberty on the obverse and E Pluribus Unum on the reverse. He thought both legends were a bit weak and liable to fade quickly in circulation.
Mixed reviews for Barber coinage
The response to Barber’s new half dollar design (the same obverse motif as used for the quarter and dime) was mixed. The New York Times commented, “The design for the reverse of the half-dollar and quarter-dollar is a return to the design of almost the first coinage of the country, while the female head on the face of the coin is far more beautiful than any which has yet appeared on our coins.”
Harsh criticism also was minted for the new coins. An unsigned article observed, “The eagle is a meager and ill-fed specimen of our noble bird, and the profile is that of the goddess of liberty, though it looks like the Emperor Vitellius with a goiter . . . The nation has poor luck in getting up designs for coins. The reason is not apparent unless it be that sufficient inducements are not offered to bring our really good designers into competition.”
President Teddy Roosevelt did not like Barber's designs
The issue of the quality of Barber’s designs was raised during President Theodore Roosevelt’s term (1901-09). Barber was the “enemy” in Roosevelt’s “private war” with the Mint from 1905 to 1907, when the President wanted Saint-Gaudens to prepare new designs for all coins, from the little cent all the way up to the hefty double eagle. Roosevelt felt Barber’s designs for the silver coins were insipid. An 1895 article in The Numismatist presented a similar view: “Sculptors and artists in the United States have severely criticized the existing coinage. The designs of European coins, they declare, are infinitely superior.”
Barber's major collection of pattern coins
Unknown to most of the numismatic world was a major collection of more than 200 pattern coins. Sitting in boxes with handwritten notes was Charles Barber’s collection, the existence of which was not known until after his death. Mementos of his 48-year career, the patterns included his own work and that of his father, William, as well as those of Morgan, Saint-Gaudens, James Longacre and Anthony Paquet. It is a bit ironic that Barber collected pieces crafted by his professional rival, Saint-Gaudens. He had 11 of Saint-Gaudens’ gold eagle and double eagle pattern coins.
