The Journey From Rarity to Modern Workhorse

IT’S HARD to find a collector today who does not remember quarters being very common coins. Indeed, an entire generation of collectors has now come of age who pretty much always remember our quarters as the coins with several reverse designs per year. Quarters are always around. They serve in a multitude of spare change transactions and are one of the most used coins we have. Yet it hasn’t always been that way. Our 25 cent pieces have come a very long way from a truly humble beginning. A survey of our quarters can be extremely revealing.

1796, Birth of a Denomination

The United States Mint was authorized by Congress in 1792 as part of our first national coinage system. The full title for this is: An act establishing a mint, and regulating the Coins of the United States. Prior to this, our young nation had to make do for everyday transactions with a wide