1/4 Dollar 'Washington Silver Quarter'

Congress authorized a commemorative quarter for the 1932 bicentennial of George Washington's birth, but the coin was ultimately issued as a circulating piece rather than a collectible — a decision driven by the Depression-era collapse in commemorative coin sales that had soured Treasury officials on the entire category. The original commission went to sculptor John Flanagan over the objection of the Fine Arts Commission, which had preferred a design by Laura Gardin Fraser. That dispute was settled by Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon, whose choice of Flanagan remained controversial among medallic artists for decades.

The series ran uninterrupted through 1964, the last year silver was used before the Coinage Act of 1965 stripped the denomination of its precious metal content entirely.