In 2026, the United States turns 250 years old. To mark the semiquincentennial, the U.S. Mint is releasing five commemorative quarters, each one stepping back through the moments that shaped the country's founding.
These aren't throwaway designs. Each quarter tells a specific story — a founding principle made tangible enough to hold in your pocket. You'll find them in circulation for just one year, which means they're likely to become collector's items almost immediately.
The five quarters
The Mayflower Compact Quarter opens the story in 1620, with two Pilgrims embracing on one side and the Mayflower sailing through rough seas on the other. The Compact itself — a written agreement among the ship's passengers before they landed — is considered the earliest precursor to both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
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The Revolutionary War Quarter features George Washington as Commander-in-Chief on the obverse, with a Continental Army soldier at Valley Forge on the reverse. Valley Forge is where the Revolutionary War's hardest moment played out: the winter of 1777-78, when Washington's army endured freezing conditions and starvation while holding the line.
Thomas Jefferson appears on the Declaration of Independence Quarter, paired with the Liberty Bell — whose crack, the Mint notes, symbolizes the fragility of a nation still finding its footing. Jefferson wrote the Declaration in 1776, but the document didn't guarantee anything. It was a statement of intent.
The Constitution Quarter honors James Madison, known as the "Father of the Constitution," alongside Independence Hall in Philadelphia. This is where both the Declaration and Constitution were debated, argued over, and eventually signed — the building where principle met compromise.
Finally, the Gettysburg Address Quarter features Abraham Lincoln with an inscription from his 1863 speech: "A NEW NATION CONCEIVED IN LIBERTY." Two hands grasping each other represent Lincoln's effort to hold a fractured nation together. This quarter reaches forward to a moment when the founding principles were tested almost to breaking.
Beyond the quarters, the Mint is also releasing commemorative nickels, dimes, a half dollar, and a collectible penny — all part of the 2026 celebration. But it's the quarters that will move through everyday transactions, landing in cash registers and piggy banks across the country. For one year, the smallest everyday currency carries a reminder of where these founding moments came from.
