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Was This Coin Design Changed By Prudes?
That was no lady, that was Liberty herself!
You may not be old enough to have ever seen a Standing Liberty Quarter. Even if you are my age or older, you may never have noticed that Lady Liberty was standing bare chested on some of them. That design only was made in 1916 and part of 1917. It’s a pretty coin.
Public Outcry?
If you ever did hear anything about this, it might have been the story about how a prudish and outraged citizenry caused the Mint to cover up Liberty’s bare breast. Here is “ The Bare-Breasted Liberty Quarter “ telling the tale:
McNeil was obliged to modify his design. Miss Liberty would need to be properly covered, according to the citizens of our enlightened nation. It is easy to imagine that McNeil might have been a little resentful about the modification chore he had to undertake. Rather than simply rearrange the drapery on Liberty’s shoulder to cover the offending breast, he crafted a suit of armor instead, and chastely clothed Miss Liberty nearly to the neck in…
