Jack L. Ahr designed the colonial-drummer reverse used on the United States Bicentennial quarter.
A national competition selected three temporary reverse designs for the quarter, half dollar, and dollar. Ahr’s design showed a colonial drummer, a victory torch, and thirteen stars representing the original states.
The Mint issued the Bicentennial quarter in 1975 and 1976, while its obverse carried the dual date 1776–1976. Frank Gasparro, the Mint’s chief engraver, later made technical adjustments to Ahr’s design before production.
The drummer is sometimes confused with the imagery in Archibald Willard’s 1876 painting Spirit of '76. Both works draw on patriotic Revolutionary-era imagery, but the coin’s credited designer was Ahr.