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The Certified Barber Half Dollar 1899 XF Details (Improperly Cleaned) NGC was minted at the very first mint in the US and is in Extra Fine condition. Collectors expect extra fine condition to contain slight amounts of wear, with no remaining original luster, but specific details and date are still quite sharp. There were ample amounts of 1899 Half Dollars minted, resulting in an easy win for collectors. NGC, a prominent grading company in the US, has certified the 1899 Barber Half Dollar and has preserved it in an official plastic slab. As noted, this coin was improperly cleaned at some point in time and contains abrasions to prove it. These abrasions were taken into consideration when NGC issued it as an extra fine grade.
The Barber Half Dollar replaced the Seated Liberty coinage, by preference of the Mint Director, Edward Leech. After a failed attempt to offer a friendly competition among local artists, Leech resorted to Chief Engraver, William Barber, to come up with the design. Barber's design pictures Liberty wearing a Grecian leaf cap, on the obverse, as the reverse features the nation's seal. The Barber Dime is the only Barber coin to not showcase the heraldic eagle, holding the shield, on its reverse. The Philadelphia Mint is the main branch of the US Mint and is the oldest mint in the US, being established in 1792. After the ratification of the Constitution, the Founding Fathers needed to establish a national identity and a means of commerce. At the time, Philadelphia was the capital of the US so it only made sense for the first mint to be built there. The Mint Act was also passed, during this time, to assign coins denominations based on their legal tender or metal fineness. This act also constituted that any coin in the US should feature "an impression emblematic of liberty."