The Washington Quarter is a quarter dollar design that has been consistently minted since 1932, with the exception of 1933 or 1975 (bicentennial). The coin was designed by John Flanagan and carried the same obverse design until 1999 when it was modified to use William Cousins design for the 50 State Quarter program.
The coin was commissioned in 1924 by Congress to commemorate the 200th anniversary of George Washington's birth in 1932. The same obverse design (pictured) has been used since 1932 but several reverse design have been used. The original reverse, which was minted from 1932 to 1998, is an eagle with wings spread. United States of America arches across the top with E. Pluribus Unum (from many, one) just below it. Quarter Dollar arches across the bottom of the coin.
The coins composition was originally 90% silver and 10% copper. This was changed in 1965 due to rising silver prices. All coins from 1965 to present are made of a 100% copper core surrounded by 2 layers of a nickel-copper alloy, called cupronickel.
There are no extremely rare coins in the series, which makes it a great place to start for beginning coin collectors. Two 1932 branch mint issues are the rarest in the series, with under 500,000 in each production.
Beginning in 1999, the Eagle reverse was changed to begin the 50 State Quarters program. Five quarters were released each year from 1999 to 2008, beginning with Delaware and ending with Hawaii. In 2007, legislation passed to include Washington DC, Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, US Virgin Islands and the Northern Marianas in the series. All six were minted in 2009. This program has been succeeded by America the Beautiful Quarters, which will feature 56 national parks and will be released from 2010 to 2021.
