USA Coin Album: The Coins of 1916 - Part 2

Of course, we now know that the Denver Mint never used those dies for Barber dimes, and Superintendent Thomas Annear was, shortly afterward, advised to return them to Philadelphia. This awkward start to the new fractional silver coinage of 1916 proved to be just the beginning, and the quarter and half dollars would face even more extensive delays.

In 1915 the Treasury Department had extended invitations to three sculptors to submit designs for new silver coins. These individuals, selected at the recommendation of the Commission of Fine Arts, were Adolph A. Weinman, Hermon A. MacNeil and Albin Polasek. The results of the competition named Weinman as the winning designer of the dime and half dollar, while MacNeil took the honors with his submission for the quarter dollar. Their basic designs had all been approved by the middle of 1916, but working out the details and translating their models into working dies proved to be a laborious process of trial and error. The new dime was the first of these three coins to appear in circulation, its release coming on October 30, 1916. Though the new Standing Liberty quarter dollar and Walking Liberty half dollar had each been struck during the final month of 1916, neither coin was released until January.

It had been the desire of the Mint and the Treasury to not issue any coins of the old Barber Liberty Head type during 1916, and the existing stock of half dollars proved sufficient to meet this goal. Dimes and quarters, however, were needed more immediately. During the closing months of 1916 the Philadelphia Mint produced more than 18 million Barber dimes and nearly two million Barber quarters. San Francisco struck almost six million dimes of the old type, and Denver coined six-and-a-half million quarters. All of these coins are plentiful in grades up through MS-64, and even higher grades are not truly rare.

Coinage of the new dime, soon to be labeled by the public as the “Mercury” type, was plentiful in both Philadelphia (more than 22 million) and San Francisco (over 10 million). The Denver Mint, however, struck only 264,000 Mercury dimes before being instructed by Director von Engelken on November 24 to suspend the coining of all denominations save for the quarter dollar. Thus, we have an explanation for both the small number of 1916-D Mercury dimes and the large number of 1916-D Barber quarters.

The new dime was an immediate hit with Americans, and large numbers were preserved as souvenirs. 1916(P) and 1916-S Mercury dimes are readily available in grades up through MS-65, though the S-Mint edition is often found weakly struck at the central horizontal bands and the lower diagonal band. This deficiency was actually noticed at the time, and the Philadelphia Mint sent samples of its own dimes and milled planchets to the San Francisco coiners. The western mint then modified the die on its upsetting mill as needed to produce similar planchets that would strike more fully.

Dies for the quarter dollar were not ready until the closing weeks of 1916, too late to ship any die pairs to the western mints. Philadelphia coined a mere 52,000 pieces simply to meet the Director’s stipulation that all three new types be produced that year. These coins were withheld from immediate release, as there was already in play a dispute between the Mint and the coin’s designer, MacNeil. The artist correctly observed that his models had been extensively modified by the Mint’s own engraving staff without consulting him, and the Director was reluctant to put out coins that might have to be withdrawn or altered. Ultimately, a dramatic change was made midway through 1917’s production, but the 1916 Standing Liberty quarter has been a highly sought rarity from its very inception. Precious few were preserved in Mint State, as the general public was much more likely to save common 1917 quarters as the first examples seen.

Production of the new Walking Liberty half dollar was likewise delayed by last minute changes, but several die pairs were on hand at all three mints by the first week of December. The Philadelphia Mint produced only 608,000 pieces, though the novelty of this design was such that a higher than usual percentage was saved by both numismatists and the general public. Mint State pieces are fairly common, though gems are rather scarce. A total of 508,000 halves were coined at San Francisco before year’s end, and 1916-S pieces are slightly scarce in worn condition and fairly rare in Mint State. Once it had met its commitment to fill all outstanding orders for quarter dollars with the old Barber dies, the Denver Mint managed to put out just over a million Walking Liberty halves in the closing weeks of 1916. This is the most plentiful of the three mints in circulated grades, though its availability in unworn condition is about similar to that of the 1916(P) half dollar.

David W. Lange's column, “USA Coin Album,” appears monthly in the Numismatist, the official publication of the American Numismatic Association.