1904 Barber Half Dollar – 90% Silver – Antique U.S. Fifty-Cent Coin – Liberty Head
 
Original 1904 United States Silver Coinage | Charles E. Barber Design | Liberty Head Obverse | Heraldic Eagle Reverse | Circulated Condition
 
 
 
Offered for sale is a 1904 United States Barber Half Dollar, a historic fifty-cent silver coin produced during the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt.
 
Designed by Charles E. Barber, Chief Engraver of the United States Mint, the Barber Half Dollar was issued from 1892 through 1915 and remains a recognizable example of early twentieth-century American coinage.
 
The obverse features a right-facing portrait of Liberty wearing a Phrygian cap and laurel wreath, surrounded by thirteen stars representing the original American colonies. The reverse displays a heraldic eagle holding an olive branch and arrows, with a shield across its breast.
 
Struck in an alloy of 90% silver and 10% copper, this coin contains approximately 0.3617 troy ounces of pure silver at its original mint specifications.
 
The actual coin offered exhibits extensive circulation wear, dark natural-looking toning, numerous surface marks, and reduced detail across Liberty's portrait and the reverse eagle. The date "1904" remains clearly identifiable.
 
The accompanying photographs show the exact coin offered for sale.
 
Historical Background
The Barber Half Dollar was introduced in 1892, replacing the long-running Seated Liberty design.
Charles E. Barber designed the new dime, quarter, and half dollar, creating a coordinated family of United States silver coins that circulated through the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
The 1904 issue was produced during a period of American industrial expansion, when silver coinage remained an important part of everyday commerce.
 
A fifty-cent piece represented meaningful purchasing power in 1904 and was commonly used for wages, merchandise, and commercial transactions.
 
Barber Half Dollars remained in production until 1915, when the series was replaced by the Walking Liberty Half Dollar in 1916.
 
Today, surviving examples are collected for their silver content, historical significance, design, and individual date-and-mintmark combinations.
 
Design Features
 
Obverse – Front
Right-facing portrait of Liberty.
Phrygian cap and laurel wreath.
Inscription "IN GOD WE TRUST" above Liberty.
Thirteen stars surrounding the portrait.
Date "1904" beneath Liberty.
Original design by Charles E. Barber.
 
Reverse – Back
Heraldic eagle with outstretched wings.
Shield positioned across the eagle's breast.
Olive branch symbolizing peace.
Arrows symbolizing military readiness.
Thirteen stars above the eagle.
Inscription "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA."
Inscription "E PLURIBUS UNUM" on the ribbon held in the eagle's beak.
Denomination "HALF DOLLAR" along the lower border.
 
The mintmark, when present, appears below the eagle and above the denomination. The mint of origin for this particular example has not yet been conclusively established.