Obverse. Image Courtesy of Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS.com)
  • 25 Cents 1965-1974, KM# 164a, United States of America (USA)
  • 25 Cents 1965-1974, KM# 164a, United States of America (USA)
  • 25 Cents 1965-1974, KM# 164a, United States of America (USA), With a mint mark
Description

A quarter, short for quarter dollar, is a U.S. coin worth 25 cents, one-fourth of a dollar. It has been produced since 1796. The choice of 1⁄4 as a denomination — as opposed to the 1⁄5 more common elsewhere — originated with the practice of dividing Spanish milled dollars into eight wedge-shaped segments. At one time "two bits" (that is, two "pieces of eight") was a common nickname for a quarter.

The Washington Quarter Dollar of 1932 was originally intended to be a commemorative coin to celebrate the 200th anniversary of George Washington's birth. The coin proved so popular that the design was continued as a regular-issue for circulation beginning in 1934 in silver.

On June 3, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson announced plans to eliminate silver from the dime and quarter in favor of a clad composition, with layers of copper-nickel on each side of a layer of pure copper. The U.S. Mint transitioned from striking 1964-dated silver quarters to striking 1965-dated clad quarters. Beginning on August 1, 1966, the Mint began to strike 1966-dated pieces, and thereafter it resumed the normal practice of striking the current year's date on each piece.

The new clad quarters were struck without mint mark in 1965–1967, regardless of the mint of origin. Beginning in 1968, mint marks were restored. The San Francisco Mint had reopened, but from 1968, it struck quarters only for collectors, for the most part proof coins. Mint marks on post-1965 pieces are found on the lower right of the obverse, to the right of Washington's neck.

Obverse

A head of Washington facing left, with "Liberty" above the head, the date below, and "In God We Trust" in the left field.

George Washington was the first President of the United States (1789–97), the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.

Designer John Flanagan from a 1786 bust by Houdon / William Cousins.

LIBERTY
IN GOD WE
TRUST
JF
1966

Reverse

An eagle with wings outspread perches on a bundle of arrows framed below by two olive branches.

E Pluribus Unum — Latin for "Out of many, one" — is a phrase on the Seal of the United States. Never codified by law, E Pluribus Unum was considered a de facto motto of the United States until 1956 when the United States Congress passed an act (H. J. Resolution 396), adopting "In God We Trust" as the official motto.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
E PLURIBUS
UNUM
QUARTER DOLLAR

Edge

119 reeds.

25 Cents

Washington Quarter
KM# 164a
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Characteristics
Material Copper Nickel Clad Copper
Weight 5.67 g
Diameter 24.3 mm
Thickness 1.75 mm
Shape round
Alignment Coin
Mints
Denver Mint (D)
Philadelphia Mint (P)
San Francisco Mint (S)

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