Production and Collecting
Soon after issuance of the new quarters, the Mint received complaints that they would not stack properly. Barber made adjustments in his design to remedy this issue. Accordingly, there are two versions of the 1892 quarter, dubbed "Type I" and "Type II", both for the version without mint mark struck at Philadelphia and for those struck at the New Orleans Mint (1892-O) and the San Francisco Mint (1892-S). They may be distinguished by their reverses: Type I quarters have about half of the letter "E" in "UNITED" covered by the eagle's wing; with Type II quarters, the letter is almost entirely obscured. Type I quarters are rarer for each mint.
The 1894-S Barber dime is one of the great numismatic rarities, with a published mintage of 24 proof pieces. Various stories attend the question of how so few came to be coined. According to Nancy Oliver and Richard Kelly in their 2011 article for The Numismatist, the San Francisco Mint in June 1894 needed to coin $2.40 in silver left over from the melting of worn-out coins, just enough to coin 24 dimes. More ten-cent pieces were expected to be struck there later in the year, but this did not occur. Breen, on the other hand, related that San Francisco Mint Superintendent John Daggett had the dimes struck for a group of banker friends, giving three to each. He also gave three to his young daughter Hallie, telling her to retain them until she was as old as he was, and she would be able to sell them for a good price. According to the story, she spent one on a dish of ice cream, but kept the other two until 1954. One of the approximately nine known dimes was retrieved from circulation in 1957, and Breen speculated this may have been the ice cream specimen. One sold for $1,552,500 at auction in 2007.
In 1900, Barber modified the dies. This change resulted in quarters which were thinner, so that 21 of the new coins would stack in the space occupied by 20 of the old. Barber again set to work on the dies. San Francisco Mint officials wanted permission to use the old dies, which was refused, as it was felt that all mints should be producing coins with the same specifications. There are small differences between quarters produced at the different mints.
With the exception of the 1894-S dime, there are no great rarities in the series, as mintages were generally high. Key dates for the dime include the 1895-O, 1896-S, 1897-O, 1901-S and 1903-S. For the quarter, key dates are the 1896-S, 1901-S, and 1903-S. The rarest half dollar is the 1892-O "Micro O", in which the mint mark "O" for New Orleans was impressed on the half dollar die with a puncheon intended for the quarter; other key dates are the 1892-S, 1893-S, 1897-O, 1914, and 1915. "Condition rarities", relatively inexpensive in circulated condition but costly in high grades, include the 1901-S, 1904-S, and 1907-S half dollars. Although most dates are obtainable, many are scarce in uncirculated grades as the coins saw heavy wear. Large quantities of Barber coins were melted for bullion when silver prices rose in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Read more about this topic: United States Barber Coinage
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