1916 Proof Quarter Pattern - J-1988

Coin Details

Description

A Standing Liberty quarter pattern cataloged independently as J-1988, representing a die combination or variant not directly linked to the J-1796 primary sequence. This entry may reflect a later edition of the Judd reference that assigned a new primary number to a variant previously considered a sub-type, or it may document a genuinely distinct die pairing from the Standing Liberty design evaluation. MacNeil's quarter was the most controversial of the three 1916 designs due to the exposed breast on the Type 1 obverse. The controversy was amplified by the coin's limited initial mintage — only 52,000 quarters were struck at Philadelphia in 1916, making the Type 1 design an instant rarity. MacNeil initially defended the design as artistically appropriate, noting that classical depictions of Liberty traditionally showed the figure in states of relative undress. However, political pressure from Congress led to the modification in early 1917, when Liberty was given a coat of chain mail covering her torso. The pattern sequence for the Standing Liberty quarter documents the design as it existed before these politically motivated modifications, preserving MacNeil's original artistic conception.

Rarity Notes

R-7 (Extremely Rare). Independently numbered Standing Liberty patterns are very scarce.

Cross References

Judd J-1988, Pollock P-2180