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December 19, 2019
Quarter and Half Dollar Coins: History and Proposed Designs
The Secretary of the Treasury, through the U.S. Mint, is
statutorily required to issue specific denominations of
circulating coins (31 U.S.C. §5112). Currently, the United
States has six circulating coins-dollar, half dollar, quarter
dollar, dime, nickel, and penny. All coinage is also required
to have certain design elements, including specific words
such as Liberty, or E Pluribus Unum. The quarter
dollar has been redesigned twice in recent years (1997 and
2008), while the half dollar was last redesigned in 1964.
The first quarters were issued in 1796 and depicted Lady
Liberty on the obverse and an eagle on the reverse. Since
then, the quarter dollar has been redesigned four times: in
1932 to place President Washington on the obverse, in 1976
for the Bicentennial of the United States, in 1997 when the
50-state quarter program was authorized, and in 2008 when
the America the Beautiful program was authorized.
In March 1931, President Herbert Hoover signed a law (46
Stat. 1523) to change the design of the quarter dollar coin to
commemorate the two hundredth anniversary of the birth
of George Washington. The law required a portrait of
George Washington on the obverse and appropriate
devices on the reverse.... The finished coin (as seen in
Figure 1) had a standard eagle design on the reverse.
Figure I. George Washington Quarter, 1932-1998
Source: USA Coin Book 1932 Washington Quarters, at
https://www.usacoinbook.com/coins/2030/quarters/washington.
Notes: The reverse of the Washington Quarter was redesigned for
the American Bicentennial in 1976. See Figure 2.
In October 1973, a law (P.L. 93-127) to redesign the
quarter, half dollar, and dollar's reverse to celebrate the
bicentennial of American independence was enacted. The
law required that the coins have two dates 1776 and
1976 and should bear a design determined by the
Secretary [of the Treasury] to be emblematic of the
Bicentennial. Figure 2 shows the Bicentennial Quarter and
Half Dollar.
Figure 2. Bicentennial Quarter and Half Dollar, 1976
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Source: U.S. Mint, 1976 Bicentennial Coins, at
https://www.usmint.gov/learn/kids/library/bicentennial-coins.
In December 1997, the 50 States Commemorative Coin
Program Act was enacted (P.L. 105-124). The law
mandated changes to the quarter dollar to honor each state.
The 50 state quarters were first issued in 1999 in the order
that the states ratified the Constitution or were admitted to
the Union, starting with Delaware.
This [50 State quarters] bill will reinvigorate our
circulating coinage in a responsible, affordable way,
serving the best interests of the general public, the
national economy and the coin collecting
community.... It will be educational and fun, will
promote pride among the States and it will be a
winner financially for the Government.
- Rep. Mike Castle, Congressional Record,
November 12, 1997
As initially enacted, the 50 state quarter program did not
include the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or the
territories. On December 26, 2007, the quarter dollar
program was amended to include the District of Columbia
and the territories (P.L. 110-161). These quarters were
issued after the 50 states, beginning in 2009.
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