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- Product ID: 18798
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The Old Mint, served as a branch of the US Mint from 1838-1861, then again from 1879-1909; serving alongside three other mints in order to produce the Barber series and other famous coin collections. Following the Carson City Mint's lead, the New Orleans Mint officially closed in 1909, when it could no longer stay in production without the successful Morgan Silver Dollar. Today, the Old Mint stands as an official historical landmark and is claimed to be the oldest structure in the US. Since its minting days, the New Orleans Mint has been used as an assay office, a fallout shelter, and a storage facility for the US Coast Guard. The Old Mint also participated in other important coin series, such as the Barber coinage, wherein it is one of the only coin collections that has the same design on all denominations. The 1902-O Barber Dime has a mintage of only 4 million but is pretty accessible to the public in all conditions. Very fine condition does contain some wear, especially concerning the main image details, but the wear is minimal.
The Barber coinage series is one of the only collection to depict the same design on the dime, quarter, and half dollar. When the public grew tired of the Seated Liberty money, the Barber design was created to replace it. By preference of the Mint Director, Edward Leech, a competition was offered to local artists, using a cash prize as an incentive for the winner. When the reaction was less than satisfactory, Leech resorted to Chief Engraver, William Barber, to come up with the design. Barber's design extended to the dime, quarter, and half dollar; being one of the only coin designs to serve on all currency. Liberty is wearing a Grecian leaf cap, on the obverse, as the reverse features the coin's legal tender value.