US Quarters

US Quarters

The U.S. quarter was first created in 1796 in the first U.S. mints and has been a consistent currency ever since. The quarter has been produced from many materials, has had assorted designs, and can be a collectible item.

The idea for this particular coin came from the Spanish practice of dividing Spanish dollars into two pieces of eight. This practice of using one-fourth as coin denomination is not as common as using a one-fifth denomination in many countries.

The first quarter was made in 1796 out of silver. The design featured Lady Liberty on the front side and an eagle on the reverse side. In 1804, the 25c marker was inscribed on the reverse to show its value. In 1932, the U.S. began printing the coin with George Washington on the front side. An eagle also remained on the reverse side for decades, aside from a few years when it was replaced with a colonial pattern of 13 stars.

The first quarters were known as the Lady Liberty coins. These quarters were made of silver and categorized by their years. The first silver quarters were known as Draped Bust quarters and were produced from 1796 to 1807. From 1815 to 1838, the coins were known as Capped Bust. In 1838, the Seated quarter was introduced; the Barber coin followed in 1892, and the Standing was introduced in 1916. The Washington quarter would be the last silver coin produced from 1932 to 1965.

In 1965, the mint stopped using silver and began making quarters in copper-nickel. These would still share the same Washington outline. In 1999, the United States mint began plans for three new quarter designs: the 50 State Quarters, 1999-2008; the District of Columbia and U.S. Territories coins, 2009; and the America the Beautiful Quarters, 2010-2021.

As with other coins, quarters can be considered collectible. Silver quarters like Barbers, 1892-1916, and Standing Liberty coins, 1916-1930, are made out of silver, so they may be collected by historians and coin collectors.

There are two categories of Standing Liberties. The first coin was later changed to a second because it was considered to have a risque image.

Silver Washingtons, minted from 1932 to 1964, are also collectible. Silver quarters during this time were specially made for the Bicentennial and made out of silver.