"The Comprehensive Encyclopedia of United States Liberty Seated Quarters by Larry Briggs"; a review by Robert A. Izydore, North Carolina Numismatic Association (NCNA) Journal, Vol. 18, 6, Winter, 1993. This encyclopedia is the first comprehensive work devoted to the U. S. Liberty Seated Quarter, which was minted from 1838 to 1891. The book was compiled using notes from twenty-nine years of research involving approximately a half million seated liberty quarters. At the front of the book is a brief history of the series written by Harry Smith and an article by John McCloskey, which first appeared in the Gobrecht Journal, on reeding modification in the series. This is followed by a discussion of how to use the book. This discussion includes a summary of obverse terms, reverse terms, the numbering system, and the rarity scale used in the book. The numbering system gives the distance in mm from the top of the numerals in the date to the bottom of the rock on which Ms. Liberty sits as well as the position of the right edge of the first "1" in the date relative to the vertical lines in the obverse shield. At the end of the book is a "Glossary of Terms" used throughout the book. The bulk of the book is devoted to a year and mintmark analysis of the liberty seated quarter series. For each date and mintmark data to identify it are given along with photos of both the obverse and reverse sides of a high-grade specimen of that date. The photos are in black and white and are enlarged by approximately 1.8 times for clear viewing. Photos are not given for each individual variety, but photos of selected obverses and reverses are given to illustrate significant features. A total of 615 photos are shown in the book. The overall quality of the photos range from fair to very good. The data for each year includes the mintage of both business strikes and proofs; a description of each known obverse listed as OBV. 1, OBV. 2, etc; a description of each known reverse listed as REV. 1, REV. 2, etc; the rarity rating in grades G/VG, F/VF, XF/AU and UNC; and pertinent comments. The obverse and reverse descriptions include information on the proofs. Each obverse description gives the position of the digits on the date using the numbering system described above. Detailed information on features unique to each obverse and reverse are given. The book is a valuable reference for anyone who collects or is interested in the United States liberty seated quarter. The book was published by Larry Briggs Rare Coins, Lima Ohio, in 1991. It contains 265 pages and costs $39.95 softcover and $60.00 for the limited edition hardbound. |
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