Description
The U.S. Mint would like to believe their current activities in the 21st Century are a renaissance of coin design, but coin collectors couldn’t disagree more.
Among coin collectors, the true renaissance of U.S. coinage occurred from 1907 to 1921. From the common cent to twenty dollar gold pieces, every coin underwent sweeping design changes that produced some of the most artistic and beautiful coins ever released by the mint. Ask any collector what they believe are the most beautiful coins ever minted and you’ll get a vote for at least one denomination from this period.
One such example is the Standing Liberty Quarter twenty five cent coin. Designed by Hermon Atkins MacNeil, with a composition of 90% silver and 10% copper, the Standing Liberty Quarter was produced from 1916 through 1930.
On the obverse, Lady Liberty is featured standing while she carries an upraised shield in her left hand (to represent protection) and an olive branch in her right hand (to represent peace). The intent of the symbolic representation told the world that the United States of America was prepared for anything (war or peace). Additionally, the obverse design shows the word LIBERTY, the designer's initial M located to the right of the date, a mint mark located to the left of the date (Philadelphia issues carried no mint mark) and the motto IN GOD WE TRVST. No Trust is not spelled incorrectly, the spelling was based on the Latinized version of trust where a U is drawn as a V.
The reverse design features an eagle in flight. Additionally, the reverse design shows the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA QUARTER DOLLAR near the rim, the motto E PLVRIBVS VNVM above the eagle (latinized spelling where "U" is represented as "V"), 13 stars near the rim (to represent the original 13 colonies) and three stars below the eagle.