Quarter (U.S. coin) Facts for Kids

A 2014 US quarter

A quarter dollar or quarter is a coin worth one-fourth (¼) of a U.S. dollar. This means it's worth 25 cents. The United States has been making quarters since 1796.

History of Quarter Designs
- Early Silver Quarters
- Modern Copper-Nickel Quarters
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History of Quarter Designs

Over the years, the U.S. quarter has had many different looks! These changes often reflect important moments in American history or show famous symbols.

Early Silver Quarters

For a long time, quarters were made mostly of silver. Here are some of the first designs:

Draped Bust (1796–1807): This early design showed a picture of Liberty with flowing hair.
Capped Bust (1815–1838): This design featured Liberty wearing a cap.
Seated Liberty (1838–1891): This popular design showed Liberty sitting down, holding a shield and a pole with a cap on top.
Barber Quarter (1892–1916): Named after its designer, Charles E. Barber, this coin showed a classic image of Liberty's head.
Standing Liberty (1916–1930): This quarter showed Liberty standing, holding a shield and an olive branch. There were two main versions of this design.
Washington Quarter (1931–1964): This coin was first made to celebrate the 200th birthday of George Washington. It showed his picture on the front. Some special silver versions were made for collectors until 1998.

Modern Copper-Nickel Quarters

Since 1965, most quarters are made from a mix of copper and nickel. They look silver, but they don't contain any actual silver.

Washington Quarter (1965–1998): The regular Washington quarter continued with the copper-nickel mix.
Bicentennial Quarter (1975–1976): To celebrate 200 years of American independence, special quarters were made. They showed a colonial drummer on the back and were dated "1776–1976."
50 State Quarters (1999–2008): This very popular series featured unique designs for each of the 50 U.S. states on the back of the quarter.
District of Columbia and U.S. Territories Quarters (2009): After the 50 states, quarters were made for the District of Columbia and U.S. territories like Puerto Rico and Guam.
America the Beautiful Quarters (2010–2021): This series showed famous national parks and sites from across the United States. Each year, five new designs were released.