Commems Collection Classic: 1932 Washington Quarter

(Yes! I consider it a commemorative. IMO, the 1932 Washington quarter is the US' second commemorative quarter (after the Isabella of 1893) and its first meant-for-circulation commemorative quarter.)

I decided to pull together my previous responses about this coin into a single thread. I've also added quite a bit of additional information. Enjoy!

The story of the launch of the Washington quarter is certainly an interesting one.

The US Congress established the United States Commission for the Celebration of the Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Birth of George Washington ("Bicentennial Commission") in 1924 via Senate Joint Resolution 85 that was introduced by Senator Simeon Davison Fess (R-OH) on February 22 (the 192nd anniversary of Washington's birth) and signed by President Calvin Coolidge on December 2, 1924.

The Bicentennial Commission was to guide "the participation of the United States in the preparation and completion of plans for the comprehensive observance of that greatest of all historic events, the bicentennial of the birthday of George Washington."

The Bicentennial Commission planned many celebratory events and prepared a long list of educational materials to mark Washington's birth anniversary. It also set its sights on a commemorative coin and a series of commemorative postage stamps.

The Bicentennial Commission originally conceived of a special half dollar that it could sell for a premium as a special memorial coin. The Treasury Department, however, had been voicing its opposition to such souvenir commemorative coins for years and continued to do so regarding the Bicentennial Commission's original (and informal) proposal; the Treasury received a letter concerning a potential memorial half dollar from the Commission in April 1930.

Though it was opposed to a special half dollar, the Treasury supported a new circulating quarter design. After consulting with the Treasury, the Commission moved away from its half dollar thoughts and got on board with the Treasury's 25-cent coin plan.

It was, in fact, Secretary Mellon who sent a letter to Congress expressing, on behalf of the Treasury Department, the preference for replacing the Standing Liberty design on the quarter with one commemorating George Washington; the letter had attached to it draft language for a coinage bill to that effect. (The Treasury was in favor of replacing the Standing Liberty design due to the difficulties the Mint had in fully striking Hermon MacNeil's detailed design.)

A Hearing for the proposed coin was held on February 13, 1931 by the House Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures at which the Treasury Department again voiced its objection to special souvenir coins and its preference for replacing the design of the Standing Liberty quarter vs. striking a special commemorative 50-cent piece. The Committee's subsequent report stated its support for the striking of a George Washington quarter.

As a result, no bill calling for a George Washington Bicentennial 50-cent coin was introduced in either the Senate or House in 1931; only companion bills for a proposed 25-cent coin were offered for consideration. In each of the bills offered, Congress respected the wishes of the Treasury Department for a 25-cent coin - it did not overrule it and recommend a half-dollar coin (or any other coin denomination). (See below for a brief discussion of other commemorative coin proposals for the Washington bicentennial that preceded and followed these bills.)

Following the Washington quarter bill being signed into law on March 4, 1931, the US Mint launched a design contest for the quarter and set a deadline of October 15, 1931 for the receipt of models. Leading artists from across the country were invited; more than 100 submissions were received.

The Commission on Fine Arts (CFA) reviewed the submissions and reported their short list of acceptable submissions to the Treasury, asking Secretary of the Treasury, Andrew G. Mellon, to review them and select his preference. Mellon selected the models of John Flanagan. The Bicentennial Commission and CFA are known to have preferred, and lobbied hard for, the models of Laura Gardin Fraser, the artist/sculptor responsible for the designs used on the Commission's official medals, but the Secretary held firm on his original decision.

Ogden L Mills succeeded Mellon as Secretary of the Treasury on February 12, 1932 and, though he could have changed course from Mellon's decision, decided he preferred Flanagan's design as well and thus the Treasury/Mint proceeded with Flanagan's designs/models. As Secretary, Mills had the authority to make the final decision; the CFA served in an advisory capacity and eventually had to back down and accept his decision.



As the design contest took place after the coin was authorized, it was held knowing that the new Washington Bicentennial coin would be a quarter and not a half dollar - the designs developed and submitted by the various participating artists were never intended for a half dollar.

When information was initially released about a possible new 25-cent piece being struck in 1932 to mark George Washington's birth, the term "commemorative" was definitely used. Such public media use was carried over into the coin's authorizing legislation (Public Law 71-852) which reads as follows:

"..... the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized and directed, for the purpose of commemorating the two hundredth anniversary of the birth of George Washington, to change the design of the twenty-five-cent piece so that a portrait of George Washington shall appear on the obverse, with appropriate devices on the reverse, of said piece. The new coins shall be issued for general distribution beginning in 1932, the year of the said bicentennial anniversary."

While this text is strongly "commemorative" in its overall tone, it is also clear that its intention was "to change the design of the twenty-five-cent piece" in circulation beginning in 1932. As it did not stipulate an end-date for the striking of the new piece or a return to the previous design after 1932, it is easy to see how it can be viewed as a "circulation" coinage act. I believe this was the first strike against the coin's commemorative standing.

Strike #2: Though it initially announced the new 25-cent piece as a commemorative, The Numismatist -- the official journal of the American Numismatic Association ( ANA) and the leading numismatic journal of the time -- in September 1932 stated of the coin: "It should be remembered that although the coin commemorates the two-hundredth anniversary of the birth of George Washington, it is not a commemorative coin as the term is generally used by collectors. It is a regular Government issue of a new design..."

Strike #3 reinforced the message seen in The Numismatist - the coin was not advertised by dealers of the day within their lists of commemorative coins. I believe from that point on, the non-commemorative fate of the Washington quarter was sealed for essentially all collectors.

I have read, on multiple occasions, the opinion of how the striking of a circulating commemorative coin beyond its commemorative year somehow removes the coin's commemorative status. I think the first time I encountered this was in reference to the Australian commemorative crown issued in 1937 to mark the coronation of King George VI. In 1937 it was a commemorative, but in 1938, after additional pieces of the same design were struck to meet the needs of commerce, it "lost" its commemorative status and was henceforth typically considered a general issue.

I don't see why a coin has to lose its commemorative status if it is issued beyond its original commemorative year (we certainly have enough example of multi-year issues in the US classic commemorative series!). To me, the Washington quarter's ongoing use as our circulating 25-cent piece (as of 1934) does not in any way cause the 1932 issue to lose its commemorative distinction. Many don't agree, but there's room for all of us in the hobby!

So, my classic US commemorative coin collection includes an example of the 1932 Washington quarter. It's a Philadelphia strike because I'm a type collector who doesn't desire to pay the significant premium required to own a high-grade Denver or San Francisco strike - a brilliant gem uncirculated coin from Philadelphia works just fine for me at a much lower cost!


For the sake of completeness...

Other Washington Bicentennial Coinage Proposals

On Washington's birthday in 1930, Representative John Levi Cable (R-OH) introduced a bill that proposed a $3.00 gold coin in honor of the bicentennial of Washington's birth. The bill called for up to 300,000 of the $3.00 coins. The bill was referred to Committee, but never reported out for consideration by the full House.

On January 4, 1932, almost a year after the quarter design change bill became law, Representative Samuel Shaw Arentz (R-NV) introduced a bill that called for circulating 10-cent, 25-cent and 50-cent coins in commemoration of the George Washington birth bicentennial. The bill did not include any calendar limits on the coins and left the details regarding design and mintage numbers up to the Director of the Mint. The bill was referred to Committee and never seen again.

Each of the above appears to have been introduced without involvement of the Bicentennial Commission, and went nowhere without such official sanction.


To view some of my other posts about US commemorative coins, see Read More: Commems Collection.