1st President

United States of America

(1789 - 1797)

As the first President of the United States of America beginning in 1789, George Washington oversaw the creation of our country’s first coinage. While many people thought a portrait of George Washington rightfully belonged on American coinage, he himself thought otherwise. In Europe, it was customary to place leaders and monarchs on coinage, and as America was a new country with new values of freedom, Washington did not want to replicate those old customs.

It wasn’t until 1932, that George Washington was honored on our American coinage. To celebrate the bicentennial, or 200-year anniversary of Washington’s birth in 1932, a one-year-only commemorative quarter was to be struck. While originally intended as a one-year-only commemorative coin, the Washington Quarter was so popular that it remained a permanent design and has gone on to become one of America’s most enduring coins. 

Designed by John Flanagan, the Washington Quarter’s initial design was struck from 1932 to 1998. In 1999, with the onset of the State Quarter Program, Flanagan’s portrait was replaced by a rendition by William Cousins. In 2021, Flanagan’s famous design made a return for one year. In 2022, Laura Gardin Fraser’s Washington portrait was placed on the obverse of the series and will remain there until 2025.