United States Mint officials announced Jan. 14 that the bureau began shipping 2026 circulation quality Semiquincentennial coinage Jan. 5 to the Federal Reserve for distribution into general circulation.

The output from the Denver and Philadelphia Mints comprise the Emerging Liberty dime, the Mayflower Compact quarter dollar (the first of five to be issued in 2026 in celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary), and the Enduring Liberty half dollar.

In celebration of the nation’s Semiquincentennial, the United States Mint is minting most 2026 circulating coins with a one-year only redesign. The Lincoln cent was removed from circulation production in mid-2025 after many years of carrying a production cost well in excess of face value, nearly four times face value in 2025.

The Lincoln cent will be produced in 2026 only for inclusion in Uncirculated Mint sets, Proof sets and Silver Proof sets.

The circulating coin redesign was authorized by the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of  2020 (Public Law 116-330, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-116publ330/pdf/PLAW-116publ330.pdf) and signed into law on Jan. 13, 2021, by President Donald J. Trump. The coins commemorate 250 years of American Liberty, reflect the country’s founding principles and honor the nation’s history.

Emerging Liberty dime

According to the U.S. Mint’s design narrative, the Emerging Liberty dime’s obverse design “features a determined Liberty as the winds of revolution waft through her hair.

“With steadfast resolve, she faces the tyranny of the British monarchy. Her liberty cap bears stars and stripes, at once a symbol of our burgeoning nation and a reference to early American coinage.” Inscriptions are LIBERTY, IN GOD WE TRUST, and the dual dates 1776 ~ 2026.

The reverse design illustrates “an eagle in flight carrying arrows in its talons, representing the American Revolution and the Colonists’ fight for independence. Inscriptions are UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, E PLURIBUS UNUM, ONE DIME, and LIBERTY OVER TYRANNY.”

The obverse design was rendered by U.S. Mint Artistic Infusion Program designer Esao Andrews and sculpted by U.S. Mint Medallic Artist Craig A. Campbell. The reverse was designed and sculpted by U.S. Mint Medallic Artist Eric David Custer.

Mayflower Compact

The Mayflower Compact quarter dollar obverse features two Pilgrims embracing as they behold the New World.

The Pilgrims did not arrive at their intended destination; therefore, they did not hold a charter to establish a colony at Plymouth. Instead, the Mayflower Compact, signed Nov. 21, 1620, established the colony as a mutual enterprise, and its force of law depended on the consent of the Colonists themselves to promote the common good.

The Mayflower Compact is considered a precursor to the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. Inscriptions are E PLURIBUS UNUM, 1776 ~ 2026, and IN GOD WE TRUST.

The obverse was designed by AIP designer Ronald Sanders and sculpted by Custer.

The reverse features the Mayflower, with full sails over rough seas, heading west. The Pilgrims aboard sought religious freedom in the New World, eventually landing at Cape Cod and settling in what later became Plymouth, Massachusetts.

The inscriptions are UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, LIBERTY, MAYFLOWER COMPACT, and 25¢.

The reverse was designed and sculpted by U.S. Mint Medallic Artist Phebe Hemphill.

Enduring Liberty half dollar

The Enduring Liberty half dollar obverse design “shows a close-up view of the Statue of Liberty, her steadfast gaze looking outward as if toward the future.

“The inscriptions are UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, IN GOD WE TRUST, and 1776 ~ 2026.

“The reverse design features Liberty passing her torch, its flame trailing with the momentum of purpose, to a new generation. Inscriptions are E PLURIBUS UNUM, HALF DOLLAR, and KNOWLEDGE IS THE ONLY GUARDIAN OF TRUE LIBERTY.”

The half dollar obverse was executed by AIP designer Donna Weaver, a former U.S. Mint sculptor-engraver, and sculpted by U.S. Mint Medallic Artist John P. McGraw. The reverse was designed by AIP designer Beth Zaiken and sculpted by Mint Medallic Artist Darla Jackson.

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