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2101

1916 25C MS67 Full Head NGC. The 1916 Standing Liberty

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:40,000.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1916 25C MS67 Full Head NGC. The 1916 Standing Liberty
<B>1916 25C MS67 Full Head NGC.</B></I> The 1916 Standing Liberty quarter is a curious issue. Few examples (in absolute terms) were set aside at the time of issue, making it a seldom-encountered date in all grades. However, because of the high prices the issue commands in all grades it is generally available in major auctions, which makes it seem more available than it really is. In the ultimate grade of MS67 with a Full Head designation, though, there can be no doubt about the rarity of the 1916 quarter. Heritage handles tens of millions of dollars in rare coins each year, yet only twice before in the previous dozen-plus years have we an MS67 Full Head 1916 quarter for sale at public auction. This piece is one of only three so certified at NGC, with none finer, while at PCGS there are four pieces in MS67 Full Head, again with none finer (3/07).<BR> Much of the speculation about the redesign of the Type One Standing Liberty quarter centers around the alleged "indecency" of the exposed breast of Liberty, speculation that persists today. Novice historians (including Walter Breen) tended to overstate the role of the Society for the Suppression of Vice in the redesign process. In reality, someone with considerably more political clout was responsible for the design change. On April 16, 1917, Treasury Secretary William G. McAdoo wrote to Representative William Ashbrook of Ohio to protest the Type One quarter design. On April 30, Ashbrook introduced McAdoo's bill before Congress. The document called upon the Mint to modify the original design by increasing the concavity of the fields and repositioning the eagle with relation to the stars. To support this legislation, McAdoo asserted (erroneously) that the Type One coins would not stack properly. This proposal became Public Law 27 on July 9, 1917 and specified that no major changes be made to the design other than those specifically stated. Since the approved modifications would have had a definite effect on the stacking qualities of the quarters, why did the Mint circumvent the law and further modify MacNeil's original design? While many numismatists see the jealous hand of Chief Engraver Barber at work, the real culprit was actually McAdoo himself, who had married President Woodrow Wilson's daughter in 1914. Through this familial alliance, as well as his position as Secretary of the Treasury, McAdoo hoped to springboard himself into the White House after Wilson stepped down. However trivial the complaints from the Society for the Suppression of Vice may have seemed to many Americans, an aspiring politician such as McAdoo could not afford to ignore them. Accordingly, the Treasury Secretary fabricated the charge of improper stacking to mask his real intentions. While the Mint did carry out the authorized modifications, it also significantly altered the basic design by using a chain mail vest to cover Liberty's exposed breast. The Treasury Department did not even attempt to modify Public Law 27 to reflect the change, but it did enter into the Congressional Record the fact that McAdoo did not like the Type One design--the only statement of truth in the entire process. While McAdoo's presidential hopes were dashed in the elections of both 1920 and 1924, the illegal changes he ordered for the Standing Liberty quarter remained in use until the design was retired in 1930.<BR> This is a truly amazing 1916 quarter. It is, in fact, a truly amazing Standing Liberty quarter regardless of date. The surfaces, brilliant throughout, exude thick mint frost that covers each side, unimpeded by the poststriking defects one would expect on a lower-graded coin. The striking details are notable, especially for the normally weak 1916 quarter, with strong horizontal shield lines, unusually sharp definition on the ear, neck, and throat of Liberty, and a sharp line separating the hair. This is an exceedingly rare opportunity for the specialist that should be carefully considered, as this date is seldom offered for sale in such a superior state of preservation. Census: 3 in 67 Full Head, 0 finer (4/07).<BR><I>From The Encinitas Collection.</B></I><BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Coins & Currency (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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