Barber Half Dollar Good Condition 1902

Inspired by the Grecian goddess, Liberty, the Barber design was created to honor the roots of the woman so beloved on US currency. The Seated Liberty was the current design and the US Mint Director, Edward Leech, believed it was time for a new portrait. He first put out an add for a competition among local artists, hoping to lure them in with a cash prize for the winner. When the response was less than what he bargained for, Leech collaborated with Barber to come up with a design. William Barber, the US Mint Chief Engraver from 1879-1917, designed the Barber coinage. The Barber coinage is one of the only times in history wherein all of the circulating currency matched in design. The 1902 Barber Half Dollar contains an average mintage but never lasts long in our inventory nonetheless. Considered to be in good condition, the 1902 Barber Half Dollar exhibits heavy wear on the entire surface of the coin, but the date is still readable.

For collectors, learning about the mints that produced historical coin series is just as important as the actual history of the coin. The Philadelphia Mint was the first mint to be established in the US so it doesn't mark its coins with a mint-mark. The US desperately needed an identity but also a means to international commerce so the Founding Fathers decided that a national mint was the answer. The Mint Act officially announced the opening of the Philadelphia Mint and also instituted guidelines for the newly minted currency. A dollar decimal system would be used to assign the currency with legal tender values. Also, an emblematic symbol of liberty must be included on US currency, hence why so many adaptations of Liberty have been used.

• Denomination: N/A
• Year: 1902
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