In the 20th century, the Liberty Seated coinage of the United States was popular with collectors and brought strong prices at auction. However, with the introduction of numerous design changes since 1999, the old lost favor to the new. It has only been in the last few years that interest in the Liberty Seated coinage has revived, and today that upswing is still in evidence. Quarter dollars were first struck at the Philadelphia Mint in 1796, but for decades there was little demand for this denomination. The Spanish 2-reales silver coin, struck in large quantities at the Mexico City Mint – and others, circulated heavily in the United States. The two coins were equal in value and, until the supply of the Spanish coin diminished, there was little reason to strike U.S. quarter dollars.
One archaic reminder of Colonial and the early United States is the common name for the quarter dollar, “Two Bits.” Today this still is commonly heard at high school sporting events with the cheerleaders saying “Two Bits, Four Bits, Six Bits, a Dollar, All for [name of school] Stand Up and Holler.”
On occasion, the supply of imported Spanish silver did falter, but in general it remained strong until the late 1820s. Beginning in 1831, however, the Philadelphia Mint began to produce several hundred-thousand quarters each year, marking the beginning of the end for the Spanish
