At the upcoming Whitman Baltimore Winter Expo, Stack’s Bowers’ Rarities Night auction will offer an incredible group of high grade Barber dimes, with many examples in both Mint State and Proof formats.
The dime design that bears Barber’s name was the result of a failed design competition in 1891 that initially was to include submissions from the most distinguished artists in America. Unfortunately time and budget constraints forced a different plan. Instead, the competition was opened to the public, and 300 designs were submitted. Even with so many designs to choose from, the committee found quality to be lacking and only gave an honorable mention to two. Given that two members of the three person committee were Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Charles Barber, this shouldn’t have been a surprise. Both men felt that they were the only artists competent enough to achieve satisfactory results. Fortunately for Barber, Edward Leech the new Mint director backed him and assigned him the task of redesigning the dime, quarter and half dollar.
View Barber Dime Highlights Starting with Lot 20025.
View and bid on all lots in the November 2015 Baltimore Auction online at StacksBowers.com.