Basic Quarter Terms

Quarter

A quarter is the United States twenty-five-cent coin. It represents one-fourth of a dollar and has been part of U.S. coinage since the early federal period.

Twenty-Five-Cent Coin

The official denomination of a quarter is twenty-five cents. Collectors often use “quarter” and “twenty-five-cent coin” to describe the same U.S. coin.

Numismatics

Numismatics is the study and collecting of coins, paper money, medals, and related objects. Quarter collecting is one of the most popular areas within U.S. numismatics.

Legal Tender

Legal tender means a coin is officially recognized as money for payment. U.S. quarters remain legal tender even when older examples are worth more than face value to collectors.

Face Value

Face value is the amount printed or assigned to a coin by the issuing government. A quarter’s face value is twenty-five cents, even if collector or silver value is higher.

Quarter Series Terms

Draped Bust Quarter

The Draped Bust quarter was struck in 1796 and again from 1804 through 1807. It includes the first regular U.S. quarter issue.

Capped Bust Quarter

The Capped Bust quarter was struck from 1815 through 1838 and features Liberty wearing a cap.

Seated Liberty Quarter

The Seated Liberty quarter was struck from 1838 through 1891 and features Liberty seated on the obverse.

Barber Quarter

The Barber quarter was struck from 1892 through 1916 and was designed by Charles E. Barber.

Standing Liberty Quarter

The Standing Liberty quarter was struck from 1916 through 1930 and features Liberty standing with a shield and olive branch.

Washington Quarter

The Washington quarter began in 1932 and remains the foundation of the modern U.S. quarter series.

State Quarter

A State Quarter is a Washington quarter issued from 1999 through 2008 with a reverse design honoring one of the 50 states.

America the Beautiful Quarter

An America the Beautiful quarter is a Washington quarter issued from 2010 through 2021 honoring national parks and other national sites.

American Women Quarter

An American Women quarter is a modern Washington quarter issued from 2022 through 2025 honoring important women in American history.

Parts of a Quarter

Obverse

The obverse is the front of a coin. On Washington quarters, the obverse features George Washington.

Reverse

The reverse is the back of a coin. Quarter reverses have included eagles, Liberty designs, state designs, national park designs, and American Women designs.

Rim

The rim is the raised outer border of the coin. It helps protect the design and can be important when identifying damage or certain mint errors.

Edge

The edge is the outer side of the coin between the obverse and reverse. U.S. quarters normally have a reeded edge.

Field

The field is the flat background area around the main raised design elements on a coin.

Device

A device is a raised design element, such as Washington’s portrait, Liberty, an eagle, lettering, or a state symbol.

Reeded Edge

A reeded edge has small grooves around the outside of the coin. U.S. quarters have reeded edges, unlike pennies and nickels, which normally have plain edges.

Mint and Production Terms

Mint Mark

A mint mark is a small letter showing which U.S. Mint facility produced the coin. Quarter mint marks may include no mint mark, O, S, D, P, W, or other collector-related mint marks depending on the series and year.

Philadelphia Mint

The Philadelphia Mint produced many U.S. quarters. Earlier Philadelphia quarters often have no mint mark, while later Washington quarters may carry a P mint mark.

New Orleans Mint (O)

The New Orleans Mint used an O mint mark and produced several classic silver quarter issues, especially in the Seated Liberty and Barber series.

Denver Mint (D)

The Denver Mint uses a D mint mark. Denver quarters include many Washington, State, America the Beautiful, and American Women quarter issues.

San Francisco Mint (S)

The San Francisco Mint uses an S mint mark and is important for proof quarters, silver proof quarters, and several classic branch mint issues.

West Point Mint (W)

The West Point Mint uses a W mint mark. Modern W quarters are popular with collectors because they were produced in limited numbers for circulation during certain years.

Mintage

Mintage means the number of coins struck for a specific date, mint, denomination, or issue.

Planchet

A planchet is the blank metal disc that becomes a coin when struck by the dies.

Strike

Strike refers to the act of impressing a coin design into a planchet. It can also describe how sharply the finished coin was made.

Strike Quality

Strike quality describes how fully the design came up when the coin was struck.

Business Strike

A business strike is a coin made for regular circulation instead of specially made for collectors.

Proof Coin

A proof coin is a specially made collector coin struck with extra care, often with sharper detail and more reflective surfaces.

Proof Set

A proof set is a set of proof coins issued together by the Mint.

Composition Terms

Silver Quarter

A silver quarter is a quarter made mostly of silver. Most U.S. quarters dated 1964 or earlier are 90% silver.

90% Silver

90% silver means the coin is made of 90% silver and 10% copper. Barber quarters, Standing Liberty quarters, and Washington quarters from 1932 through 1964 used this composition.

Clad Quarter

A clad quarter is a modern quarter with outer copper-nickel layers bonded to a copper core. Circulating Washington quarters from 1965 onward are generally clad coins.

Copper

Copper is used in both silver-alloy quarters and modern clad quarters. In clad quarters, copper appears in the core.

Nickel

Nickel is part of the copper-nickel outer layers used on modern clad quarters.

Composition Change

A composition change happens when the metal content of a coin changes. For Washington quarters, the major change occurred in 1965 when circulating quarters moved from 90% silver to clad composition.

Grading Terms

Grade

Grade is the measure of a coin’s condition. It reflects wear, detail, luster, strike, surfaces, and eye appeal.

Coin Grading

Coin grading is the process of evaluating a coin’s condition and assigning a grade.

Wear

Wear is the loss of detail caused by circulation and handling.

Very Good (VG)

Very Good (VG) is a lower circulated grade where major design outlines remain, but the coin is heavily worn.

Very Fine (VF)

Very Fine (VF) is a circulated grade with moderate wear and stronger remaining detail.

Uncirculated

Uncirculated means the coin shows no wear from circulation, although it may still have marks or weak strike.

Mint State (MS)

Mint State (MS) describes an uncirculated coin on the numerical grading scale.

Luster

Luster is the original shine or reflective quality created during minting.

Surface Preservation

Surface preservation refers to how clean and original a coin’s surfaces remain without major marks, scratches, cleaning, corrosion, or other problems.

Eye Appeal

Eye appeal is the overall visual attractiveness of a coin.

Toning

Toning is the natural or artificial color change that can develop on a coin’s surface over time.

Slab

A slab is a sealed plastic holder used by third-party grading companies to certify and protect a coin.

Standing Liberty Quarter Terms

Type 1 Standing Liberty Quarter

Type 1 Standing Liberty quarters were struck in 1916 and part of 1917. They show the original Liberty design and are collected as a major type.

Type 2 Standing Liberty Quarter

Type 2 Standing Liberty quarters began in 1917 with a modified Liberty design and revised reverse layout.

Full Head

Full Head refers to a Standing Liberty quarter with complete, sharply struck detail on Liberty’s head.

Recessed Date

A recessed date is a date placed lower into the design to help protect it from wear. Standing Liberty quarters began using recessed dates in 1925.

1918/7-S Overdate

The 1918/7-S Standing Liberty quarter is a famous overdate variety and one of the key collector targets in the series.

Washington Quarter Terms

Washington Quarter

The Washington quarter began in 1932 and features George Washington on the obverse. It includes silver issues, clad issues, and multiple modern reverse programs.

Silver Washington Quarter

A silver Washington quarter is a 1932 through 1964 Washington quarter struck in 90% silver.

Clad Washington Quarter

A clad Washington quarter is a 1965 or later circulating Washington quarter made with copper-nickel clad composition.

1932-D Washington Quarter

The 1932-D Washington quarter is one of the classic key dates of the silver Washington quarter series.

1932-S Washington Quarter

The 1932-S Washington quarter is another major first-year key date in the Washington quarter series.

Bicentennial Quarter

The Bicentennial quarter was issued for the United States Bicentennial and features a special drummer reverse dated 1776–1976.

Modern Quarter Program Terms

State Quarters Program

The State Quarters program ran from 1999 through 2008 and honored each of the 50 states with a unique reverse design.

America the Beautiful Quarters Program

The America the Beautiful quarters program ran from 2010 through 2021 and honored national parks and other national sites.

American Women Quarters Program

The American Women quarters program runs from 2022 through 2025 and honors important women in American history.

W Quarter

A W quarter is a quarter with a West Point mint mark. Modern W quarters are popular because certain issues were released into circulation in limited quantities.

Silver Proof Quarter

A silver proof quarter is a proof quarter struck in a silver composition for collector sets.

2004-D Wisconsin Extra Leaf Quarter

The 2004-D Wisconsin Extra Leaf quarter is a famous State Quarter variety with an extra leaf near the corn stalk on the reverse.

Error and Variety Terms

Error

Error means a mistake that happened during the minting process.

Variety

Variety means a repeatable difference caused by the die itself.

Double Die

Double die describes a die variety with visible doubling caused during the die-making process.

Overdate

Overdate refers to a date variety where traces of an earlier date appear beneath the final date.

Off-Center Strike

Off-center strike means the planchet was not properly centered when struck, leaving part of the design missing.

Clipped Planchet

A clipped planchet is a coin blank with part of the metal missing before the coin was struck.

Broadstrike

A broadstrike happens when a coin is struck without the collar properly containing the metal, causing the coin to spread outward.

Die Crack

A die crack is a raised line on the coin caused by a crack in the die.

Cud

A cud is a larger die break, often near the rim, where part of the die has broken away.

Strike-Through

A strike-through occurs when a foreign object or substance comes between the die and the planchet during striking.

Wrong Planchet

A wrong planchet error happens when a coin is struck on a planchet intended for a different denomination or issue.

Collecting Terms

Key Date

A key date is one of the most important or difficult coins in a series.

Type Coin

A type coin is one representative example of a major design type rather than every date in a series.

Roll Hunting

Roll hunting means searching rolls or boxes of coins for better dates, errors, varieties, older coins, or silver coins.

Date-and-Mintmark Set

A date-and-mintmark set is a collection built by obtaining one coin from each year and mint combination in a series.

Proof Set

A proof set includes specially made proof coins issued together for collectors.

World Coins

World coins are coins from countries outside the United States.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a quarter?

A quarter is the United States twenty-five-cent coin, worth one-fourth of a dollar.

What year quarters are silver?

Most U.S. quarters dated 1964 or earlier are 90% silver. Circulating Washington quarters from 1965 onward are generally clad coins.

What does Full Head mean on a Standing Liberty quarter?

Full Head means Liberty’s head detail is complete and sharply struck on a Standing Liberty quarter.

What are the key date Washington quarters?

The 1932-D and 1932-S Washington quarters are the classic key dates of the silver Washington quarter series.

Are State Quarters part of the Washington quarter series?

Yes. State Quarters are part of the broader Washington quarter series because they feature George Washington on the obverse.