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The 1898 Barber Half Dollar has an average mintage and is in very good condition. With large amounts of wear on both sides of the coin, many important details are lacking, such as the leaves on Liberty's headpiece or the feathers on the eagle. This coin was also minted by the Philadelphia Mint, the first mint to be established in the US, and doesn't place mint-marks on its coins. Founded when the US desperately needed an identity but also a means to international commerce, 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.
There are many coin collections with their own individual history, intriguing collectors through the ages. The Barber collection is one of the only coin series to simultaneously have the same design on the half dollar, quarter, and dime. When the Seated Liberty Half Dollar had run its course, the Mint Director Edward Leech, wanted to hold a competition for the next coinage design. Adding the appeal of a cash prize for the winner, the local turnout was a bit underwhelming. The artists that were invited to participate wanted a different prize, under different terms, and withdrew when their needs weren't met. Leech resorted to inside the mint, wherein he worked with the Chief Engraver at the time, to construct a new design. The Chief Engraver, William Barber, was approved by president, Benjamin Harrison, to move forward with the Barber coinage.