1898 25C Barber Quarter PCGS PR67CAM--$4,290.00

      We are pleased to offer for your consideration a beautiful example of the 1898 proof Barber quarter. This striking specimen would fit perfectly in a type set of classic U.S. proof quarter dollars--or a type set of proof Barber coinage (including the dime, quarter, and half dollar). This piece could also be in a set of all of the proof Barber quarters from 1892 to 1915. Barber proof quarters from 1896 are quite rare, for just 735 of them were produced.

       President Theodore Roosevelt said that the coinage of Charles E. Barber was "artistically of atrocious hideousness," and Barber coinage has seen much criticism over the years; however, many sophisticated collectors enjoy the oft maligned designs. Barber has a champion in numismatic scholar and art critic Cornelius Vermeule, who writes that, "...Liberty's cap, incised diadem, and wreath of laurel were designed to echo all the depth and volume of her Olympian countenance. The classical substances are offset, almost literally, by the sharply rectangular dentils of the raised rim and the strength of 13 six-pointed stars. On the [reverse] ... an equal constellation of stars ... is clustered above the eagle's shaggy, craggy profile. On both sides the simple dignity of motto, legend, and denomination binds the pictorialism into a cohesive tondo. The wealth of irregular surfaces and sharp angles is an almost electrifying aesthetic experience. ... specimens [are] a pleasure to contemplate. The sculptor was unsurpassed in the mechanics of creating a durable design of monumental validity."