We are pleased to carry Peter Planchet's popular (?) web column,Coin Talk. Although some people find
Dr. Planchet somewhat offesive and condescending, he is the world's foremost expert in the field of numismatics (If you have any doubts,you can ask him!). In his debut column, Dr. Planchet discusses the controversy behind the 1916 Standing Liberty quarter.
The 1916 Standing Liberty Quarter
Well, every one with half a pea brain knows this story, but I'll tell it anyway. In 1916, the Standing Liberty Quarter
was released where Miss Liberty had an exposed breast. We thought that we had gotten rid of visible breasts after the
issue of the 1896 five dollar note which depicted five semi-naked females representing electricity. The whole idea was
ridiculous. One breast represented voltage, another represented current, etc. That's when my family first joined
Americans United Against Visible Breasts (AUAVB). After many street protests, the AUAVB won its battle when in 1899, the
hussies on the five dollar bill were replaced by an Indian Chief.
Covering the Breast
By 1917, they made Miss Liberty wear chain mail. The victory by the AUAVB was one of the biggest in American history. Soon after the victory, the group began to fizzle out, although I kept my membership intact. Membership grew again after the Janet Jackson breast incident at the Super Bowl. Again, they tried the one-breast-at-a-time strategy. You know how these people operate. First they'll get one breast exposed, then they'll go for two. Before you know it, the whole country will be topless. This will lead to chaos and socialism.
