The 2026 semiquincentennial coin program authorized five special quarter designs.
The authorization came from the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020, which included a dedicated group of five quarter dollars for the 250th anniversary of American independence. The program treated the quarter as a set rather than a single commemorative reverse.
The planned themes connected the anniversary to major parts of the American story, including the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, abolition, women’s suffrage, and the civil rights movement. These themes were intended to broaden the historical story beyond the familiar imagery of the Revolutionary era.
The five-quarter plan can be confused with the American Women Quarters Program, which is a separate series authorized by the same 2020 law. The semiquincentennial quarters were specifically tied to the 2026 anniversary and were part of the wider United States coin redesign program.