Chief Engraver of the US Mint. In 1852 he emigrated to the US with his family. His father William Barber, also an engraver, was hired by the Philadelphia Mint and became Chief Engraver following the death of James B. Longacre in 1869. Charles was then hired by his father as an assistant. After his father's death, President Hayes appointed the younger Barber as the sixth Chief Engraver of the United States Mint in 1879. He became best known for his design of the Liberty Head "V" nickel (minted for circulation 1883 to 1912), and the Liberty Head or "Barber" dime, quarter, and half dollar (minted for circulation 1892 to 1916, except for the half dollar which ended in 1915). He also designed certain commemorative coins, including the obverse of the 1892 Columbian half dollar, the 1893 Isabella quarter, the 1900 Lafayette Dollar, and the Panama-Pacific Exposition half dollar, as well as presidential medals for Ulysses Grant, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, and William Howard Taft. The four-dollar pattern gold piece (or "Stella") with the flowing hair design on the obverse is also attributed to Charles Barber. The "Stella" was proposed to Congress as an international trade coin but it didn't match any of the coin's European counterparts. Consequently, it was never minted in quantities for circulation. Barber was tasked with making Augustus St. Gaulden's original high-relief design for the twenty dollar gold piece of 1907 viable for mass coinage, which he accomplished by lowering the relief. This allowed the coin to be struck for the next twenty-six years, but greatly annoyed St. Gaudens and his followers. Upon his death, George T. Morgan (of the Morgan silver dollar fame) became the Chief Engraver of the US Mint.
Chief Engraver of the US Mint. In 1852 he emigrated to the US with his family. His father William Barber, also an engraver, was hired by the Philadelphia Mint and became Chief Engraver following the death of James B. Longacre in 1869. Charles was then hired by his father as an assistant. After his father's death, President Hayes appointed the younger Barber as the sixth Chief Engraver of the United States Mint in 1879. He became best known for his design of the Liberty Head "V" nickel (minted for circulation 1883 to 1912), and the Liberty Head or "Barber" dime, quarter, and half dollar (minted for circulation 1892 to 1916, except for the half dollar which ended in 1915). He also designed certain commemorative coins, including the obverse of the 1892 Columbian half dollar, the 1893 Isabella quarter, the 1900 Lafayette Dollar, and the Panama-Pacific Exposition half dollar, as well as presidential medals for Ulysses Grant, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, and William Howard Taft. The four-dollar pattern gold piece (or "Stella") with the flowing hair design on the obverse is also attributed to Charles Barber. The "Stella" was proposed to Congress as an international trade coin but it didn't match any of the coin's European counterparts. Consequently, it was never minted in quantities for circulation. Barber was tasked with making Augustus St. Gaulden's original high-relief design for the twenty dollar gold piece of 1907 viable for mass coinage, which he accomplished by lowering the relief. This allowed the coin to be struck for the next twenty-six years, but greatly annoyed St. Gaudens and his followers. Upon his death, George T. Morgan (of the Morgan silver dollar fame) became the Chief Engraver of the US Mint.
Bio by: William Bjornstad
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