John R. Sinnock, the chief engraver of the United States Mint, designed both the present quarter eagle and Sesquicentennial Half Dollar commemorative coins.
The obverse of the quarter eagle depicts Liberty standing on a portion of the globe. She holds a scroll in one hand representing the Declaration of Independence and a lit torch in the other. Surrounding inscriptions include “United States of America”, “Liberty”, “1776″, and “1926″. Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is depicted on the reverse. Inscriptions read “Sesquicentennial of American Independence”, “E Pluribus Unum”, and “2 1/2 Dollars”.
The 1926 Sesquicentennial Quarter Eagle had a maximum authorized mintage of 200,000 coins and were sold at a price of $4 each. The US Mint struck the entire authorized mintage, but ended up melting more than three quarters of the coins after they failed to sell. Despite the importance of the anniversary, the coins failed to generate significant interest from the public.
Notably, this would represent the last of the early commemorative coins struck in gold. All remaining issues of the series would take the form of the silver half dollar.
Sesquicentennial of American Independence Quarter Eagle Coin Specifications
Designer: John R. Sinnock
Composition: 90% gold, 10% copper
Weight: 4.18 g
Diameter: 18 mm
Authorization: Public Law No. 68-62
Maximum Authorized Mintage: 10000
Sesquicentennial of American Independence Quarter Eagle Mintage
1926: 46,019