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The Standing Liberty Quarter was minted from 1916 until 1930. Replacing the Barber Quarter, the Standing Liberty was President Theodore Roosevelt's attempt to making US coinage a work of art again. Although there were some low mintage years, the Standing Liberty Quarter's average mintage is quite high. Until 1925, the Standing Liberty was weakly struck, causing the coin's date to wear off without difficulty. The issue was finally fixed in 1925, but many circulated quarters still have weak dates, even if they have a higher grade. The 1926 Standing Liberty Quarter has a mintage of just over 11 million and is in fine condition. With a healthy amount of wear, the 1926 Standing Liberty Quarter's date and main image details may be heavily worn.
Theodore Roosevelt wanted to get away from the boring and simplistic portraits of Lady Liberty and make US coinage a work of art again. Famous sculptor, Hermon Atkins MacNeil, was called upon by the mint's director to take on such a responsibility. The design MacNeil first introduced was very militaristic in detail and was rejected by the Commission of Fine Arts. MacNeil then added dolphins to represent the world's famous oceans, since this design had never been used before, and was accepted for a short time. The US Mint revised the quarter, again, and without MacNeil's permission, causing him to complain publicly about the disrespect. MacNeil was given the chance to revise the coin one more time, in 1917, and the design was used for the rest of the Standing Liberty Quarter's production. After several revisions, the Standing Liberty depicts a warrior-like Lady Liberty, wearing chain mail on her chest and is holding a shield with one hand. The other hand is holding an olive branch, signifying peace. The date of mintage is inscribed underneath Liberty's sandaled feet. The reverse features a large eagle in flight, with the coin's monetary denomination of a quarter dollar.