The Mint traces the origins of the 50 State Quarters program to a congressional hearing in June 1995, at which Mint Director Philip N. Diehl, as well as prominent numismatists, urged Congress to pass legislation allowing a series of circulating commemorative coins similar to the quarters Canada had recently struck for its provinces.
 In response, Congress passed the United States Commemorative Coins Act of 1996, which was signed by President Bill Clinton on October 20, 1996.
 The act directed the Mint to study whether a series of commemorative quarters would be successful.
The Mint duly studied the matter, and reported favorably.
 Although the act had given Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin the authority to carry out the report by selecting new coin designs, Secretary Rubin preferred to await congressional action.
 The resulting 50 States Commemorative Coin Program Act was signed by President Clinton on December 1, 1997.
 Under the act, each of the fifty states would be honored with a new quarter, to be issued five a year beginning in 1999, with the sequence of issuance determined by the order the states had entered the Union.
 The act allowed the Secretary to determine the position of the required legends, such as "IN GOD WE TRUST" on the coin: To accommodate a large design on the reverse, "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" and "QUARTER DOLLAR" were moved to the obverse, and the bust of Washington shrunken slightly.
 A state's design would be selected by the Treasury Secretary on the recommendation of the state's governor.

As part of the series, the Mint sold collector's versions in proof, including pieces struck in .900 silver.
 The Mint also sold a large number of numismatic items, including rolls and bags of coins, collector's maps, and other items designed to encourage coin collecting among the general public.
 The Mint estimated that the government profited by $3 billion through seignorage on coins saved by the public and through other revenues, over what it would otherwise have earned.

Legislation to extend the program to the District of Columbia and the territories had been four times passed by the House of Representatives, but the Senate had failed to consider it each time.
  Provisions authorizing such a program were inserted into an urgent appropriations bill, and passed in December 2007.
 The resultant 2009 District of Columbia and U.S. Territories Quarters Program maintained the Washington obverse but on the reverse displayed designs in honor of the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands, all minted in 2009.

In 2008, Congress passed the America's Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin Act.
 This legislation called for 56 coins, one for each state or other jurisdiction, to be issued five per year beginning in 2010 and concluding in 2021.
 Each coin features a National Park Service site, one to a jurisdiction.
 Flanagan's head of Washington was restored to bring out detail.
 In addition to the circulating pieces and collector's versions, bullion pieces with 5 troy ounces (155 g) of silver are being struck with the quarter's design.

In May 2012, the Mint announced plans to strike the first circulation-quality quarters at the San Francisco Mint since 1954, to be sold only at a premium in bags and rolls.
 All five 2012 designs were struck, the first circulation-quality coins struck at San Francisco since 1983 (when Lincoln cents were struck without mint mark), and the first with the S mint mark since the Anthony dollar in 1981 (struck for mint sets only).
In 2019, the silver version of the quarter was struck in .999 silver, marking a permanent change from the previous .900.
In 2019, the Mint struck 2,000,000 of each circulating quarter design at the West Point Mint bearing its mint mark W. These were released into circulation mixed in with new coins from Philadelphia or Denver.
This continued in 2020 with the 2020-W quarters bearing a privy mark V75 inside a small cartouche on the obverse.

Following the conclusion of the National Parks quarter series
The Mint traces the origins of the 50 State Quarters program to a congressional hearing in June 1995, at which Mint Director Philip N. Diehl, as well as prominent numismatists, urged Congress to pass legislation allowing a series of circulating commemorative coins similar to the quarters Canada had recently struck for its provinces.  In response, Congress passed the United States Commemorative Coins Act of 1996, which was signed by President Bill Clinton on October 20, 1996.  The act directed the Mint to study whether a series of commemorative quarters would be successful. The Mint duly studied the matter, and reported favorably.  Although the act had given Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin the authority to carry out the report by selecting new coin designs, Secretary Rubin preferred to await congressional action.  The resulting 50 States Commemorative Coin Program Act was signed by President Clinton on December 1, 1997.  Under the act, each of the fifty states would be honored with a new quarter, to be issued five a year beginning in 1999, with the sequence of issuance determined by the order the states had entered the Union.  The act allowed the Secretary to determine the position of the required legends, such as "IN GOD WE TRUST" on the coin: To accommodate a large design on the reverse, "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" and "QUARTER DOLLAR" were moved to the obverse, and the bust of Washington shrunken slightly.  A state's design would be selected by the Treasury Secretary on the recommendation of the state's governor.
As part of the series, the Mint sold collector's versions in proof, including pieces struck in .900 silver.  The Mint also sold a large number of numismatic items, including rolls and bags of coins, collector's maps, and other items designed to encourage coin collecting among the general public.  The Mint estimated that the government profited by $3 billion through seignorage on coins saved by the public and through other revenues, over what it would otherwise have earned.
Legislation to extend the program to the District of Columbia and the territories had been four times passed by the House of Representatives, but the Senate had failed to consider it each time.   Provisions authorizing such a program were inserted into an urgent appropriations bill, and passed in December 2007.  The resultant 2009 District of Columbia and U.S. Territories Quarters Program maintained the Washington obverse but on the reverse displayed designs in honor of the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands, all minted in 2009.
In 2008, Congress passed the America's Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin Act.  This legislation called for 56 coins, one for each state or other jurisdiction, to be issued five per year beginning in 2010 and concluding in 2021.  Each coin features a National Park Service site, one to a jurisdiction.  Flanagan's head of Washington was restored to bring out detail.  In addition to the circulating pieces and collector's versions, bullion pieces with 5 troy ounces (155 g) of silver are being struck with the quarter's design.
In May 2012, the Mint announced plans to strike the first circulation-quality quarters at the San Francisco Mint since 1954, to be sold only at a premium in bags and rolls.  All five 2012 designs were struck, the first circulation-quality coins struck at San Francisco since 1983 (when Lincoln cents were struck without mint mark), and the first with the S mint mark since the Anthony dollar in 1981 (struck for mint sets only). In 2019, the silver version of the quarter was struck in .999 silver, marking a permanent change from the previous .900. In 2019, the Mint struck 2,000,000 of each circulating quarter design at the West Point Mint bearing its mint mark W. These were released into circulation mixed in with new coins from Philadelphia or Denver. This continued in 2020 with the 2020-W quarters bearing a privy mark V75 inside a small cartouche on the obverse. 
Following the conclusion of the National Parks quarter series
Washington quarter