Charles Barber - The Buffalo Butcher

[Buffalo_Pete]

I also posted this across the street.........

 

When Black Diamond started to show signs of age, his Zoo-keepers decided to make some money off him.

 

They uncerimoniuosly had him hauled off to a local New York slaughterhouse.......A Silz.....where they cut him up and sold him as "Black Diamond Steaks".

 

I don't really know if Charles Barber, Chief Engraver, the "Grand Ol Man" of the Philadelphia Mint even knew about it, but Barber himself cut the daylights out of the coin Black Diamond was portrayed on....the Buffalo Nickel....long before the Bisons' demise.

 

Charles Barber was a man of prejudices........he had to be.....It WAS his job to engrave new coin designs. But after Victor David Brenners Lincoln Cent, and the Augustus St. Gaudens gold designs invaded turf only he should have a hold on.....the pot simmered....

 

Then came to a boil.

 

To be sure, he got back at Brenner and St. Gaudens for their foray into his territory. He hemmed and hawed and blockaded their advances....sometimes with valid reason...but nontheless with a fervor of a man scorned....cutting and modifying their original designs somewhat just to prove a point.

 

HE WAS Chief Engraver!

 

He played a role in having the VDB removed from the Lincoln Cent. No doubt. His prejudice toward that coin shows in the fact the he most likely revelled in removing it from the Hub during the first year of the Cent's issue. He got back at poor Brenner by leaving his initials off the coin on purpose.

 

It wasn't till he passed away that anyone dared to put them back on. George Morgan, the "Dollar Guy", put them under Lincoln's shoulder.

 

St. Gaudens passed away before he had a chance to see Barber's tinkering with his designs....most notably and arguably the most beautiful American coin....the Double Eagle.

 

Flash to 1912.........................

 

Barber's Liberty Nickel was to be replaced, and it was decided to commision James Earl Frasier for the new coin. His Buffalo Nickel was both beautiful, artistic, and a real jewel shining in the darkness.

 

The new coin was minted rough-hewn......the fields not smooth...like a medal.

 

It would be too verbose here to speak of Barber's dislike for the coin, and when a problem arose, he was very quick to solve it.

 

The word "CENTS" on the reverse of the coin in high relief was wearing away prematurely.

 

The Mint was still having nightmares from the V Nickel debacle, when "Racketeers" took normal five cents coins without "Cents" on them and dipped them into gold. They were passed as gold coins.

 

After talking to Frasier about a re-design, and getting his approval...to put FIVE CENTS in an exurgue to protect it..............Barber went bonkers!

 

Not only did he do the repair.....he could not hold off.......he smoothed down the fields on both sides of the coin to remove the "medalist" look of the coin.

 

The Type II coin lost the "look". Well, it DID get Barber's look.

 

I can imagine him smiling as he cut...and smoothed....and cut some more.

 

The "Grand Ol Man".....true to his prejudices......had his final say.

 

Hope you all enjoyed this.

 

Pete

[jtryka]

I hate his work on the Saint-Gaudens double eagle...

[RWB]

Some additional information on this subject might be of interest. Here are several quotes from Jim Fraser regarding the Philadelphia Mint’s work on the Buffalo nickel:

 

Jan. 26 1913 to Roberts from Fraser:

 

“I find the engraving which was necessary to make the two sides of the coin fit exactly, the reduction of the edge and the simplifying of the background under the Buffalo’s head is beautifully done, showing no difference between the surface which I put on the models and the one they have made. I am delighted with their work at the Mint.”

 

 

Jan. 29, 1913 to Roberts from Barber:

 

“My recollection of the conference held on the 21st instant with Mr. Fraser and Mr. Reith, also Mr. Henson, in regard to the new Five Cent coin is perfectly clear.

“Mr. Reith came to my office first and explained what was required to make the coin acceptable to the Vending Company. Mr. Henson, also a representative of the Company, came next and Mr. Fraser last. The subject was fully discussed in all its bearings. Mr. Fraser was more that satisfied with the hubs as made by me, and disapproved of the new reductions from his altered model.”

 

 

Jan. 29, 1913 to Roberts from Fraser:

 

“…As I have told you in a previous letter I feel that the work done at the Mint – the engraving, truing up the edge, smoothing the background where I suggested, is perfect. It couldn’t have been done better. I have showed the trial nickel you gave me to Mr. French, Adams, and a number of other artists. They all tell me that this is our best coin.

“Will you please tell Secretary MacVeagh that I am satisfied with the coin as it was struck from the present die.

“Sincerely yours,

“J. E. Fraser”

 

 

April 25, 1913 to Roberts from Fraser:

 

“Your letter of April 22nd last [sic – April 23rd] together with enclosure reached me in due course, and it seems to me that the nickel enclosed with the “Five Cents” made clearer is good and does not at all interfere with the general design.”

 

 

If one reads all of the original documents, not just the excerpts printed in articles, the overall impression is that Barber and Fraser worked well together. Their common "enemy" was Clarence Hobbs of Hobbs Mfg Co/ASTUMCO who found every excuse to cause trouble and ended up earning the ire of officials from President Taft on down.

 

The nickel did present production problems and die life was less than the previous Liberty design. Barber did not like any of the new designs calling them "soft and impressionistic." Barber and Morgan cut new hubs for the 1916 minor coinage, which are somewhat sharper with better defined lettering than the original versions.

 

Regarding the 1907 Saint-Gaudens $20. The much-repeated comment that Barber changed the date from Roman numerals to European digits is incorrect. Barber used the last set of models provided by Henry Hering (low relief with European date) to cut hubs. He then re-engraved much of the central detail because it had been lost in the reduction from model to hub. Much of the loss of detail was because the mint engravers did not know how to properly control the Janvier reducing lathe. Barber's re-engraving is crude when compared to Hering's model, but President Roosevelt liked the work so the coins were issued for circulation.

 

FYI the first extremely high relief double eagle hubs were not made by Barber. They were made by Henri Weil (later to co-found Medallic Art Company) at the Philadelphia Mint during the first week of January 1907.

 

I hope this is of interest.

[Buffalo_Pete]

Very interesting, RWB. Thanks for providing the added reference to my little story.

 

I did insinuate in my story that Barber wasn't a real jerk. He sometimes had "valid reason" to act.

 

The Hobbs deal is well known to those who studied the Buff in depth.

 

My take on the whole thing is that Barber could not leave well enough alone and just cut the exurgue to recess the denomination..............

 

He went further and smoothed out the whole field of the coin.

 

I find no reference that I know of for his technical reasons for doing that.

 

Pete

[Jazzy]

All this talk of Buffalos is making me hungry.

[Wihlborg]

I’ve actually eaten buffalo, and it is quite good.

 

 

Of course, I’m talking about the animal, not the coin.

 

John

[RWB]

Buffalo_Pete,

In other documents Barber explained about the problems with Fraser's design. Among several technical difficulties, the texture of the bison and Indian caused tiny chips of metal to break form the dies. This acted like abrasive and literally ground detail off of the bison and Indian. Dies had to be changed frequently to maintain acceptable quality and Barber complained that the various mint coiners sometimes left dies in too long. This problem was recognized before production by Barber and Fraser which is why most of the rough field (intended to represent prairie grass) was removed.

 

Medallic Art Co. made the first experimental hubs in December 1912. However, Barber cut the final hubs at the mint. They may be the best hubs he ever did, and the reason may have been that he had already seen Medallic Art's work so he knew he had to match the quality. Also, Fraser was much more agressive than most artists and had a reputation for intimidating casters, carvers, die cutters and other craftsmen.

 

Clarence Hobbs & friends show up again in 1916 to influence the new silver coin designs, and in 1920 and 1921 to object to Congress about proposed Teddy Roosevelt 2-1/2 cent coins. To his credit, Hobbs engineer did identify several potential problems with the Buffalo nickel including quantifying the amount of wear necessary to make the date and value disappear.

[Buffalo_Pete]

RWB.

 

Thanks again for your reply.

 

Never heard of the "chips" problem with coining the Buffs before now. It's never too late to learn.

 

Barber was a qualified engraver, no doubt. Your story substansiates his foray into the smoothed field thing.

 

But, personally, I STILL believe that he enjoyed doing it a little to much.

 

Pete

[Hoot]

I also do not like the changes that occurred with the buffalo nickel in 1913, 1916, and subtly thereafter. I also know that there are many insinuations of Barber's intolerable personality and his megalomania expressed in his control of office. Some of this, however, is modern folklore, but it can be lovely to have a treacherous villian at hand to blame for changes that are, at least, unaesthetic.

 

Yet, I'm sure that barber understood more than one thing about engraving and also about the minting process and what made it more efficient. And if there is anything that he pursued in his job, it was greater and greater production of coins that were in high demand at the time. He appears to have worked quite diligently, even while he resisted the forces of change. Thus, I can relent and forgive the man I never knew, and still consider him a villian of sorts.

 

It's always a bit remarkable to me that George Morgan tolerated Charles Barber all those years. He must have been a very patient and internally satisfied man.

 

Hoot

[RWB]

Buffalo_Pete,

Some of the unpublished documents discuss minting defects and the reasons for various problems including clashed dies, die wear, planchet problems etc. There will be more published on this after more data are collected.

 

Considering that Barber was engraver from 1880 to 1917, and that during that time there were relatively few defective coins released, suggests he and other mint officials were careful about their work. Several documents refer to either Barber or the coiner condemning large batches of struck coins apparently based on very minor problems. Also note that there are no “special coins for special people” or restrikes during Barber’s era. He made medals for private contracts, as did William Key and Morgan, but that was also a permitted activity (except during the short tenure of director Andrew).

 

Like anyone in the tool and die trade, I would expect Barber to have been meticulous, detail oriented and a very controlling type of person. He was probably personally charming to officials and visitors, and a control-freak for those working for him. He was certainly not a great artist although amidst the mediocrity are several excellent works. But he wasn’t hired as an artist – his job was to translate other artist’s work and written concepts into presentable medals, award medallions, coins, embossing stamps and related relief items. Creativity was limited to well defined themes and allegorical images.

 

From digging into letters from the 1875-1920 period, the impression that comes across of Barber is less obstructionist than stubborn and fixed in his 1870s training. I think Barber knew what the mint equipment could and could not do. His boundary was always within those limits. His fight with Saint-Gaudens, begun in 1891, was highly personal, and letters from both men make it clear they disliked one another intensely. Yet, when the first extremely high relief models came to the mint, Barber did everything he could to strike the coins exactly as specified by the President, and to do it as quickly as circumstances allowed. Much of the time, he complains about having to wait for models from Saint-Gaudens. He had few problems with Pratt’s 1908 half eagle models, or Brenner’s 1909 cent or Fraser’s 1913 nickel or any of the 1915 Panama-Pacific coins. However, in 1916 – for reasons that are not well understood – the first silver coin patterns were awful. Simply very poor hubs and soft dies. (Morgan’s 1917 SL quarter hubs are also miserable.)

 

George Morgan is an interesting case. He came to America in 1877 at the request of Director Linderman, and was initially given the title of “Special Engraver” reporting to the director, not the Philadelphia Mint. He was, in effect, the equal of engraver William Barber and this caused a lot of friction particularly since Philadelphia superintendent Pollock did not like being under Linderman’s thumb. (Linderman had a group of “special employees” who duplicated many Philadelphia Mint functions but reported only to the director.)

 

Morgan’s skills were excellent in 1877, but he seems not to have grown artistically or technically once the engravership was awarded to Charles Barber. (Remember, Morgan was not a US citizen at the time, and his protector, Linderman, died in 1879.)

 

After Morgan became engraver in March 1917, we see a substantial increase in defective coins and dies – lots of overdates, repunched/wrong mint marks, lower quality circulation coin. Except for a short period in early 1918 when John Sinnock was an assistant, Morgan was the only engraver on the staff until 1923 when Sinnock returned as associate engraver. 1917 also begins a period when the Philadelphia Mint apparently made medals and coins to order for prominent collectors or for other purposes. The 1921 satin proof $20 “presented” to director Baker by Morgan is one example, and there are invoices and letters from Morgan to collectors for special pieces. The odd-ball 1921 Morgan dollar proofs that didn’t pop up until 1922 are another example.

 

OK…enough wanderings.

[Wihlborg]

Excellent info RWB!

 

I have enjoyed reading it. Please, feel free to wander wherever and whenever you like.

 

John

[DWLange]

A couple of quick notes to add to the mix:

 

Barber was an extremely competent sculptor and engraver, though he did have very conventional tastes in medallic art that were clearly at odds with current trends during the early 20th Century. His reputation was besmirched by Walter Breen who, in my encounters with him, was a somewhat embittered individual who saw every glass as half empty. A reading of his book on commemoratives co-authored with Anthony Swiatek reveals his cynicism at its fullest.

 

Morgan was equally skilled and noticeably more imaginative as an artist, though still grounded in traditional modeling techniques. It was his misfortune to find himself alone in the engraving department during the hugely expanded production of the World War I years, and the poor quality of the coins during that period should not be attributed to incompetence on his part. All departments of the Mint were overwhelmed during those years. It was prolonged useage of the dies and increased set distances to further their lifespan that were the main culprits for poorly struck pieces. The budget cuts of the Harding and Coolidge administrations delayed recovery until late in the 1920s, when the quality of coinage began to rebound.

[Buffalo_Pete]

Thank you, RWB, and Mr. Lange for your further comments on this thread.

 

If anything, what I started, and what was commented on afterwards, is just what the historical record needs.

 

I'm glad I started the thread, and profoundly grateful for all of you who saw fit to either clarify, or correct my private feelings on this subject.

 

This is history....we all need to know, or in my view, WANT to know these things.

 

Like I said.........every coin has a story....

 

 

I love collecting coins.

 

Pete