Thomas Jefferson appeared on the obverse of the 2026 semiquincentennial quarter honoring the Declaration of Independence.
Jefferson was the principal drafter of the Declaration, making him the historical figure most directly associated with that coin’s subject. The quarter’s reverse depicted the Liberty Bell, another widely recognized symbol of American independence.
The coin was one of five semiquincentennial quarter designs. Other quarters addressed the Mayflower Compact, the Revolutionary War, the Constitution, and women’s contributions. The series was intended to represent different stages and themes in the nation’s history rather than repeat a single portrait.
Jefferson is sometimes confused with John Adams or Benjamin Franklin because both were prominent members of the committee and Congress involved in the Declaration’s creation. George Washington was also central to the Revolutionary era, but he did not draft the Declaration’s text.