01
The fireworks
Radiating lines show celebration; they are not documentary trajectories of British shells.
Fort McHenry
National Monument
& Historic Shrine
A celebration remembers a battle.
Fireworks rise above the fort and flag during Defenders Day. The reverse depicts a later commemorative celebration, not the bombardment of September 1814.
Read the reverse ⟶DenominationQuarter dollar
Weight5 troy ounces
Fineness99.9% silver
Diameter76.2 mm
Mint markNone · bullion
IssuerUnited States Mint
Reverse design anatomy
The fort below.
Remembrance above.
The Mint names Defenders Day as the subject and connects the fireworks with the remembered rockets in the national anthem. Radiating bursts, a raised flag and low masonry share the composition. The historical association is sourced; a precise celebration year is not established.
The following close reading describes visible forms. It does not assign undocumented intentions to the artists.
02
The flag
The flag rises above the wall and balances the bursts at the left.
03
The gateway
The arched opening anchors the lower masonry band.
The place behind the coin
An event becomes
an act of remembrance
British forces bombarded Fort McHenry on 13–14 September 1814. Francis Scott Key’s response to the surviving flag became the text of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
The annual celebration shown on the coin recalls that history from a later moment. Neither the fireworks nor the 2013 inscription makes this a literal battle illustration.
- 1814Bombardment of the fort
- 1925National-site designation
- 2013Commemorative design issued
Historical context, not a reconstruction. No unverified event photograph is used.
Same design. A larger canvas.
From pocket change
to a statement in silver
The 2013 design also belongs to the circulating quarter. At 76.2 mm, the five-ounce silver coin is 3.14 times wider by diameter—not 3.14 times heavier.
The quarter is a measured outline: an exact authorized quarter photograph is not bound for this page. It is not a miniature bullion image.
Collect with context
Know the design.
Know the object.
Reverse designer and sculptor Joseph Menna
- Standard bullion
- No mint mark · Authorized Purchasers · incuse edge weight and fineness.
- Collector five-ounce
- P mint mark · special finish · a separate object. Collector totals are not bullion mintages.