1893 25c Isabella

Coin / United States of America / 25c / Silver Commemoratives / 1893 / Philadelphia

The 1893 Isabella commemorative quarter holds numismatic significance for many reasons, including the fact it was the first United States legal-tender coin to bear the image of an actual female (beyond the many allegorical representations of a female Liberty), was the first to bear the likeness of a foreign monarch (in this case of the queen of Spain), and is also the only 25-cent coin among the body of classic United States commemoratives produced from 1892-1954. <BR><BR> The 1893 Isabella quarter was struck concurrently with the Columbian commemorative half dollars during their last year of issue. It was a fitting gesture, as Queen Isabella of Spain sponsored and supported Christopher Columbus voyages across the Atlantic Ocean to the New World, including his most famous journey in 1492. <BR><BR> The Isabella quarter, sculpted and engraved by Charles Barber and designed by Kenyon Cox, was sold for $1 each at the Women's Building at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The Isabella quarter was authorized for a mintage of 40,000 pieces but just 24,214 were distributed. Examples are widely available through MS66 and become scarce in better grades.