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Every Mint Director is faced with the difficult decision to discontinue a coin and replace it with another. Edward Leech, the Mint Director from 1889-1893, decided he wanted to update the Seated Liberty design. Offering a cash prize for the winner, Leech reached out to local artists and wanted to hold a competition for the best design. When he received negative feedback, Leech went to the Chief Engraver, William Barber, and came out with an ideal design that President Benjamin Harrison approved of. On the obverse of Barber Half Dollars, Liberty is pictured and is wearing a Grecian leaf crown. The obverse also contains the coin's date of mintage. The reverse reveals a heraldic eagle, draped in a shield and is holding arrows and olive branches in its talons. This design has been used over time on most US currency and is the US national seal.
The 1904-S Barber Half Dollar is in very good condition, exhibiting heavy wear with intricate detailing missing. With only 553,038 coins minted by the San Francisco Mint in 1904, the 1904-S Barber Half Dollar is in high demand. The San Francisco Mint was first established in order to supply a place gold miners could sell their gold. This West Coast-based mint helped produce some of the most popular coin collections in history, including the Barber Half Dollars. It ended up being a very lucrative business, turning out $4 million dollars of gold in its first year. It quickly outgrew its first building and moved to the Granite Lady building, where it withheld its structure during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The building wasn't actually made of granite, just the basement was but the name was used for marketing and stuck. In 1937, it moved to its final facility that is still the San Fran Mint today.