The badge lacked the inscriptions required for coins; to accommodate them, Barber shrank the design, surrounding it with letters. The ship on the reverse did not have sufficient detail in Warner's version; Barber requested a photograph of the caravel to be exhibited at the fair from Ellsworth, then turned the reverse over to his assistant, George T. Morgan. The chief engraver had discerned Ellsworth's desire to have the Lotto portrait used, and several times in October wrote warmly to him, apprising him of progress. By October 17, Barber had completed test dies; by the 31st, trial strikes were made and Barber informed Ellsworth that Leech had pronounced them the best-looking coins ever struck by the Mint. The Mint Director had micromanaged the fine-tuning of the designs for the Barber coinage the previous year; this time he did not intervene, and departed on November 9 for a monetary conference in Brussels.