Silver Bullion, Gold Bullion and Rare Coins

| Cart| My Account

Home

Gold Coins

Silver Coins

Silver Bullion

Depository

Sports Memorabilia

Special Offers

SEARCH STORE:


	Follow us on Twitter Translate into Categories Silver Bullion Silver Bars Silver Rounds Silver Ingots Silver American Eagles Christmas Round Silver Coins Gold Bullion Gold Bars American Gold Coins Bullion Gold Coins Error Coins Morgan Dollars Peace Dollars Presidential Dollars Eisenhower Dollars Kennedy Half Dollars 50 State Commemorative U.S. Dollars U.S. Quarters U.S. Half Dollars U.S. Dimes U.S. Nickels U.S. Pennies U.S. Mint Sets & Proof Sets U.S. Prestige Proof Sets U.S. Premier Silver Proof Sets Special Offers Our Top Sellers Custom Minting Sports Memorabilia Coin Rolls Albums, Cases ,Folders, and Supplies Want List Gifts Ideas Gifts for Him Gifts for Her Gifts for Children Gift Certificates Coin Articles read more

Quarters

The Quarter was one of the original coins authorized by Congress in 1792 when

it approved the establishment of the U.S. Mint and the production of unique

U.S. coins. The basic unit of

U.S.

currency was the Dollar, which was based on

the Spanish 8 Reales Silver Dollar (also known as a “piece of eight”). The Quarter

(25 Cents) was based on the Spanish 2 Reales silver coin, which was worth

one-quarter of a Spanish Silver Dollar and was known as “two bits.” As a result,

the U.S. Quarter also became known as “two bits.”

The first Quarter was struck by the U.S. Mint in 1796. It was the Draped Bust design with the Small Eagle reverse. Interestingly, the denomination did not appear anywhere on the coin. This was a one-year-only design, and the Quarter did not appear again until 1804, this time with a Heraldic Eagle reverse design that included the denomination “25 C.” The Capped Bust coin was struck from 1815 to 1838, and the Liberty Seated coin was issued from 1838 to 1891. Prior to 1838, all Quarters were minted in .8924 silver, but the Liberty Seated Quarter was the first in .900 silver, a level of silver that remained the standard until 1964. The denomination on the Liberty Seated Quarter was “Quar. Dol.”

In 1892, the U.S. Mint introduced the Barber Quarter, which was the first to

show the denomination in full as “Quarter Dollar.” This coin was replaced in

1916 with the short-lived Standing Liberty design. The Washington Quarter was introduced in 1932 to celebrate the 200^th anniversary of the birth of George

Washington. This design was used continuously until 1998, with the exception

of 1976 when a special one-time-only reverse design was used to commemorate

the 200^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

The 1976 coin was also the first Quarter that did not feature an eagle on the

reverse. Starting in 1965, all Quarters for circulation were struck in copper-nickel.

In 1999, the U.S. Mint began the popular State Quarters, a series of 50 different

coins issued over a 10-year period to honor each of the 50 states. The obverse of

the State Quarters retainedthe original portrait of George Washington. In 2009,

the State Quarters series was extended to include Washington, D.C., and the five

United States territories ( Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa,

United

States

Virgin Islands and Northern Mariana Islands).