U.S. Mint coin reference
The one-year bridge between the America the Beautiful program and the American Women Quarters program.
The 2021 Washington Crossing the Delaware quarter is a one-year transition between the America the Beautiful and American Women programs. It restored John Flanagan's Washington portrait to the obverse and placed the Delaware River crossing on the reverse.
Benjamin Sowards designed the reverse and Michael Gaudioso sculpted it. The single-year design, date, mintmark, clad or silver-proof composition, and 119-reed edge establish the subtype.
The Crossing the Delaware quarter occupied a short and unusually clear transition in the modern quarter series. It followed the final America the Beautiful issue—the 2021 Tuskegee Airmen quarter—and circulated before the American Women Quarters began in 2022. Because its obverse and reverse combination appeared only in 2021, collectors can treat it as a self-contained one-year type rather than as one design in a long multi-year program.
The obverse restored John Flanagan’s Washington portrait in a presentation closely resembling the quarter used from 1932 through 1998. The portrait is larger and higher in relief than on the program quarters that preceded it. LIBERTY appears at the left, IN GOD WE TRUST at the right, and the date below, making the face immediately distinguishable from both the State Quarters-era obverse and the Laura Gardin Fraser portrait introduced in 2022.
The reverse shows General George Washington directing troops during the night crossing of the ice-filled Delaware River on December 25–26, 1776. The maneuver placed roughly 2,400 Continental soldiers and their artillery in position for the surprise attack at Trenton. The design emphasizes command and movement rather than reproducing the famous Emanuel Leutze painting: Washington stands in the boat with his sword drawn while soldiers and oars drive the craft through the river.
Look for CROSSING THE DELAWARE below the central scene. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and E PLURIBUS UNUM frame the upper field, while QUARTER DOLLAR appears at the bottom. Philadelphia circulation strikes carry no mintmark; Denver pieces show D, and collector proofs were struck at San Francisco with S. Normal clad examples show the copper core along the reeded edge.
U.S. Mint design and specification reference