Boston was hard on travelers in the first two decades of 20th century, since the quarter and five dollar bill were not accept by business there.
It all start with the most beautiful of all US five dollar bills ever produced, the 1898 Education Note. Offended by the bare breasts of female figures pictured on the bill, Boston quickly protested and with the help of the Society for the Suppression of Vice they quickly convinced the Treasury to replace the bill with something less obscene.
In 1890 an Act was passed that said US coin designs could only be change after a design had become 25 years old. This meant that the first chance to change the Quarter would come in 1917. After holding a design contest Herman Atkins MacNeil's design showing a semi-topless liberty on the obverse, was chosen. After making some 1916 in Denver. Production started in all three mints in 1917. Quickly the Society for the Suppression of Vice raised their ugly head and again and Lady Liberty was forced to put on her top. The mint acting outside of the law illegally changed the design in violation of the 1890 law.
Mintage of Type I - Standing Liberty Quarters
1916D 52,000
1917 8,874,000
1917D 1,509,200
1917S 1,953,000
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