United States Mint Unveils Five 2027 Youth Sports Quarter Designs

The United States Mint has unveiled the five 2027 quarter designs featuring young athletes participating in baseball, golf, soccer, softball and snowboarding. Its Oct. 26 announcement also revealed a new portrait of George Washington that will appear on all 20 quarters in the four-year Youth Sports series running through 2030. Together, the designs introduce the Mint's Youth Sports Coin Collection, which will follow this year's five special 1776 ~ 2026 quarters issued for America's 250th anniversary.

The five 2027 sports reverses

For baseball, a young batter stands ready at home plate, holding a bat above the shoulder as a catcher crouches behind, and a section of fencing completes the scene. For golf, a young golfer completes a swing, with the club raised over the shoulder against a background patterned after the dimpled surface of a golf ball. For soccer, a young player raises both arms in celebration beside an oversized soccer ball that fills much of the background. For softball, a batter swings at an approaching pitch as a catcher crouches behind home plate, and the date 2027 appears on the plate beneath the athletes. For snowboarding, an airborne snowboarder grabs the board above a landscape of mountains and evergreen trees, with scattered snow adding a sense of movement. Each reverse bears inscriptions of the sport's name, the date 2027 and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A new Washington portrait

The common obverse portrays Washington in civilian attire, with his face turned slightly toward the viewer rather than in strict profile. Washington's new portrait marks the fifth distinct depiction of the nation's first president on a U.S. quarter, according to the Mint. John Flanagan's original Washington portrait debuted in 1932 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the first president's birth. Variations of the design appeared on circulating quarters through 2021, when Washington was also depicted on the reverse of the Crossing the Delaware quarter. A right-facing portrait replaced Flanagan's design for the American Women Quarters Program from 2022 through 2025. For 2026, the Mint introduced another likeness by Chief Engraver Joseph Menna on the Revolutionary War quarter, one of five special designs celebrating America's 250th anniversary. The new portrait will appear through 2030, paired with five different sports reverses annually. The obverse also includes the inscriptions LIBERTY, IN GOD WE TRUST, E PLURIBUS UNUM and 25¢.

The program and upcoming sports

Authorized by the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020 (Public Law 116-330), the quarters program will feature 15 additional sports after the 2027 lineup. The 2028 lineup consists of American football, swimming, gymnastics, lacrosse and track and field. The 2029 lineup consists of basketball, wrestling, tennis, cheerleading and karate. The 2030 lineup consists of figure skating, skiing, skateboarding, volleyball and ice hockey. As CoinNews reported in January 2025, the Mint invited Americans to identify the sports they wanted represented. The online survey ran from Jan. 22 through Feb. 20, 2025.

Related Kennedy half dollars

The same legislation also authorizes annual Kennedy half dollars recognizing Paralympic sports. Those coins will feature a new Kennedy portrait and changing reverses, beginning with wheelchair basketball in 2027.