Quarter (United States Coin)
A quarter dollar, commonly shortened to quarter, is a coin worth ¼ of a United States dollar or 25 cents. The quarter has been produced since 1796. The choice of 25¢ as a denomination, as opposed to 20¢ which is more common in other parts of the world, originated with the practice of dividing Spanish Milled Dollars into eight wedge shaped segments (cf. "pieces of eight"); at one time "two bits", i.e. two wedges each wedge an eighth, thus a quarter of the Spanish real, was a common nickname for a quarter.
Read more about Quarter (United States Coin): Current Design, List of Designs, Silver Series, Copper-nickel Clad Series
Famous quotes containing the words quarter and/or states:
“The oft-repeated Roman story is written in still legible characters in every quarter of the Old World, and but today, perchance, a new coin is dug up whose inscription repeats and confirms their fame. Some “Judæa Capta,” with a woman mourning under a palm tree, with silent argument and demonstration confirms the pages of history.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The moment a mere numerical superiority by either states or voters in this country proceeds to ignore the needs and desires of the minority, and for their own selfish purpose or advancement, hamper or oppress that minority, or debar them in any way from equal privileges and equal rights—that moment will mark the failure of our constitutional system.”
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945)