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 Replies: 10 / Views: 1,319 |
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Moderator
 Australia
16806 Posts |
Long ago, back in the early days of your Republic, quarters were issued with the denomination "25 c". Twenty-five cents, in other words. Though the very first quarters issued in 1796 did not bear a denomination at all, from 1804 up until the end of the Capped Bust quarters in 1838 the denomination was formally "25 C". But from the Seated Liberty quarter of 1839 onwards, the name stamped on the coins themselves has been "quarter dollar", or some abbreviation thereof. At least, this was true until 2023, when some of the Prominent Women Quarters were issued with designs that hearkened back to those olden days, bearing the denomination as either "25¢" or "25 cents". To the extent that every single Prominent Women Quarter issued in 2024 uses this system. Though I note this has been reversed in 2025, with most announced designs reverting to the "quarter dollar" designation. I don't recall seeing any official announcement or forum discussion on the issue. Was it purely a space-saving mechanism, so they could include more words that were more meaningful to the subject matter? On a presumably entirely unrelated note, I notice that your northern neighbours have, for the entirety of their issue from 1870 to today, have consistently denoted their coin as "25 cents", and never "quarter dollars", though I'm pretty sure most Canadians still colloquially call them "quarters". Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Moderator
United States
15389 Posts |
Interesting observations Sap. Quote:
I don't recall seeing any official announcement or forum discussion on the issue Neither have I. Following is informed speculation on my behalf: There is enabling legislation for all US legal tender coins, so there exists a Public Law (or multiple Laws as the case may be) that defines the key attributes associated with each of these quarters. The Public Law(s) have language constraining the subject matter, timeline for minting, quantity minted, etc. Here is where the answer might lie: The respective Public Law(s) might have specific language defining how the denomination be spelled out on the coins, or the Public Law(s) might specifically delegate that decision to an appointed authority such as the Secretary of Treasury. If an appointed authority indeed made the decision on how the denomination is spelled out then there exists somewhere in the official records of the USA a document containing that decision. Anyone up for a bit of numismatic research?  |
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Moderator
United States
187702 Posts |
Very interesting. Quote:Anyone up for a bit of numismatic research? I did a search in the text of Title 31 of the United States Code and I could not find any requirement for coins to have specific names for each denomination. What I found were the requirements for specific inscriptions—Liberty, United States of America, IGWT, EPU, etc. There is a requirement for coins to show its value, but not specific is given. So, in my opinion, the stated value—quarter dollar or 25 cents—is at the discretion of the Treasure and/or Mint. |
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Moderator
United States
94786 Posts |
Quote:
Liberty, United States of America, IGWL, EPU, etc. Well that is one I have not see yet.. "IGWL" 'In God We Love'?  |
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Moderator
United States
187702 Posts |
Oops. I fixed it. It is a lie for me either way.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2200 Posts |
My feeling is that this is purely an artistic choice on the part of the designer. More words or less words will fit in different ways on the coin, and the designer chooses the one they think looks best.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2775 Posts |
I guess "Two Bits" is better than none. Thanks, Doug.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3636 Posts |
Interesting observations and follow-on comments. Thanks, Sap.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
4588 Posts |
https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details...apII-sec5112Quote:
§5112. Denominations, specifications, and design of coins
(a) The Secretary of the Treasury may mint and issue only the following coins:
(1) a dollar coin that is 1.043 inches in diameter.
(2) a half dollar coin that is 1.205 inches in diameter and weighs 11.34 grams.
(3) a quarter dollar coin that is 0.955 inch in diameter and weighs 5.67 grams. Quote:(d)(1) United States coins shall have the inscription "In God We Trust". The obverse side of each coin shall have the inscription "Liberty". The reverse side of each coin shall have the inscriptions "United States of America" and "E Pluribus Unum" and a designation of the value of the coin. The design on the reverse side of the dollar, half dollar, and quarter dollar is an eagle. ...
-----Burton 50+ year / Life / Emeritus ANA member (joined 12/1/1973) Life member: Numismatics International, CONECA Member: TNA, FtWCC, NETCC, EveryCountry (online) coin club Owned by three cats and a wife of 40+ years (joined 1983) Author: 3rd Edition of the Sample Slabs book, https://www.sampleslabs.info/ |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1748 Posts |
They are actually 2 reales in my mind. They are the direct descendants of the Spanish American 2R.
How so? Our 1793 hard peg of our "dollar" to the SA reale made the two literally the same.
Edited by DoubleEagle20
02/11/2025 12:16 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4588 Posts |
Quote:
How so? Our 1793 hard peg of our "dollar" to the SA reale made the two literally the same. Until the Coinage Act of 1857 re-valued the "Spanish" dollar to 80 cents... -----Burton 50+ year / Life / Emeritus ANA member (joined 12/1/1973) Life member: Numismatics International, CONECA Member: TNA, FtWCC, NETCC, EveryCountry (online) coin club Owned by three cats and a wife of 40+ years (joined 1983) Author: 3rd Edition of the Sample Slabs book, https://www.sampleslabs.info/ |
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Replies: 10 / Views: 1,319 |
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Posted 02/04/2025 12:00 pm
