On November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln stood on a Pennsylvania battlefield and delivered 272 words that redefined a nation. Four months after the Battle of Gettysburg turned the tide of the Civil War, the president dedicated the Soldiers’ National Cemetery with a speech most of the crowd barely noticed at the time — and which the world has never stopped quoting since.
Now, as the United States approaches its 250th anniversary in 2026, that speech has been struck into a coin: the 1776–2026-P U.S. 25c “Gettysburg Address” quarter, certified by NGC as Gem Uncirculated and sealed with the Treasure Series label.
The Speech That Fit on a Coin
The Gettysburg Address is famous partly for its brevity. Lincoln was not even the headline speaker that day — Edward Everett spoke for two hours before him. Lincoln’s remarks lasted about two minutes. “Four score and seven years ago” reached back to 1776, tying the carnage of 1863 directly to the founding promise of 1776. That is exactly the arc this coin commemorates: 1776 to 2026, two and a half centuries in a single quarter.
The Design
The obverse carries a portrait of Lincoln framed by E Pluribus Unum and In God We Trust, with the dual date 1776–2026 and the P mintmark. The reverse shows two clasped hands beneath the words “A New Nation Conceived in Liberty” — the promise at the heart of the Address — inscribed United States of America, Gettysburg Address, and 25¢.
The Coin
- Denomination: 25 cents (U.S.), P mintmark
- Obverse: Abraham Lincoln portrait, dual date 1776–2026
- Reverse: Clasped hands — “A New Nation Conceived in Liberty”
- Certification: NGC Gem Uncirculated, Treasure Series label
- Packaging: NGC slab
- Expected in hand: Late December
The Treasure Series presentation matters here. Rather than a loose modern quarter, each coin arrives professionally graded and sonically sealed, so the piece you put away for the 250th anniversary is the piece that comes out — unchanged — for the 275th.
Why Gettysburg, Why Now
Semiquincentennial years do something predictable to American commemorative material: demand arrives all at once, and the best pieces do not stay available long. A certified tribute to the most quoted speech in American history, dated for the 250th year itself, sits right at the intersection of coin collecting and American history collecting — two audiences chasing the same limited material.
Companion collectors should also look at the 1776–2026 America’s 250th Anniversary Coin & Currency Full Album Set, a ready-made display piece covering the coinage and currency of the anniversary year.
Availability
The Gettysburg Address quarter is available now through Agate Presales for a limited window — orders close Wednesday, October 28, 2026. When the window closes, the listing comes down.