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.

Mint mark can be seen on the lower right front of the coin, near Washington's pigtail. "S" stands for the San Francisco Mint, "D" for Denver and a blank specifies Philadelphia.

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

A colonial drummer facing left, with a victory torch encircled by thirteen stars at the upper left circled by 13 stars, one star for each state in the Union when the Declaration of Independence was signed.

Drummer boys are often depicted in Civil War artwork and literature. They may seem to have been nearly ornamental figures in military bands, but they actually served a very important purpose. And the character of the drummer boy, besides being a fixture in Civil War camps, became an enduring figure in American culture. In the Civil War drummers were an essential part of military bands for obvious reasons: the time they kept was important to regulate the marching of soldiers on parade. But drummers also performed a more valuable service apart from playing for parades or ceremonial occasions. In the 19th century drums were used as invaluable communication devices in camps and on battlefields. The drummers were required to learn dozens of drum calls, and the playing of each call would tell the soldiers they were required to perform a specific task.

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.

The design of the bicentennial quarter's reverse was chosen in a $5,000 contest announced by the U.S. Treasury in 1973. Mr. Jack L. Ahr was the winner.

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