When the US Constitution was ratified in 1789, it authorized the government to establish a mint and issue a series of coins based on the new US dollar. Passed on April 2, The Coinage Act of 1792 provided for the coinage of silver and gold in both multiples (in gold) and fractions (in silver) of the dollar. An act to produce lower value copper coins would be signed by President Washington a month later.
The silver content of the US dollar was roughly equal to 1/5 of a British sterling silver pound coin and the other US coins would be based on a decimal system.
So how did we end up with a quarter instead of a 20-cent piece?
The Quarter’s Two-Bit Spanish Heritage
At the time of our country’s formation, the Spanish 8-real silver dollar was widely used throughout the Western Hemisphere, so to maintain continuity, the 1792 Act pegged the US dollar to that coin’s silver content. Because of the Spanish dollar’s relatively high value at the time (the silver in a Spanish dollar would be worth around $16.50 at the time of this article’s writing), the soft metallic coin could be easily cut into pieces for smaller transactions, typically into eighths worth one real. This gave rise to the coins’ popular name, pieces of eight, and the cut portions were known as “bits.” Hence the quarter portion of both Spanish and later US dollars equaled two “bits” or twenty-five US cents. It may not have conformed to a decimal system, but it was a familiar, known amount, and people like their money to be familiar.
The First Quarters
While quarter dollars were specified in the 1792 Act, their debut lagged behind the more popular gold Eagles and silver dollars, half-dollars, and “dismes,” as the earliest ten-cent coins were known. The first quarters were minted in 1796, but production was suspended after that until 1804 only to be halted again after 1807. It resumed from 1815 to 1828, then from 1831-1932 when the Great Depression caused demand for all coins to fall. Production started again in 1934 and has continued to the present.
The Varieties of Quarters
The original coin designs were specified in the 1792 Act. They would depict an allegorical figure of Liberty on the obverse (face). An American bald eagle was chosen as the reverse motif. Over the years, the depiction of Liberty varied, as did that of the American eagle, until Liberty was replaced by George Washington in 1932 on the 200th anniversary of his birth. The eagle would remain on the reverse until it was replaced by Bicentennial quarters for 1976. The eagle reverse returned in 1977 followed by the States Quarters from 1999 to 2008, DC and Territories quarters in 2009, and “America the Beautiful” quarters starting in 2010 and scheduled to run through 2021.
The Many Faces of Liberty
The first quarters depicted a head-and-shoulders bust of Liberty facing right with a drape around her shoulders. When production resumed in 1815, Liberty faced left and wore a Phrygian cap symbolizing freedom.
In 1838 Christian Gobrecht’s popular Liberty Seated motif was chosen for the quarter, followed by Charles Barber’s Liberty Head design in 1892. Herman MacNeil’s 1916 bare-breasted depiction of a standing Liberty was quickly revised when he added a chain mail breastplate to restore modesty beginning in 1918.
Collecting Quarters
As with all coins, rarity and condition dictate prices for collectible quarters. The earlier Liberty quarters sell for over $200,000 in top condition, and 19th century coins, while not terribly rare, can be quite valuable for small mintages. An 1828 Carson City coin, MS-67, sold for $352,500 in 2013. Twentieth century quarters cover a wide range of prices with an extremely low-mintage 1901-S pulling a record $550,000 at auction in 1990 and one of MacNeil’s scandalous 1916 quarters selling for $195,000 in 2010.
According to Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) the rarest quarters include:
1796
1804
1822 25 over 50
1827 Original
1827 Restrike
1842 Small Date
1866 No Motto
1871-CC
1873-CC No Arrows
1901-S
1916 Standing Liberty
On the other hand, quarters of most designs and mintages are not that hard to find in good-to-excellent condition without breaking the bank. And you don’t have to be a high-dollar collector to build an attractive collection of Washington quarters in all years. States and America the Beautiful quarters are a great place to start. Mint condition samples are inexpensive and silver proof sets are available for 1936-1942 and 1950-1964 as well as proofs and collector sets for the post-1964 clad coins.
For more information about the 200-plus year history of quarters, their rarity and values, see the PCGS Coin Facts website.
