How to Identify the Fort Moultrie Quarter

Read the reverse first, because that is what names the coin. The Fort Moultrie quarter shows a Continental soldier holding a flag inside the fort, backed by low palmetto-log walls and a tented encampment. The inscriptions curve around the design: FORT MOULTRIE, then FORT SUMTER NATIONAL MONUMENT, with SOUTH CAROLINA and the year 2016. Standard legends UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, E PLURIBUS UNUM, and QUARTER DOLLAR complete the side. If those words are present, you have identified the type — no other coin uses this scene or these inscriptions.

Check the obverse to confirm it belongs to the America the Beautiful era. You should see the left-facing bust of George Washington with LIBERTY above and IN GOD WE TRUST to the left. This is the same Washington portrait used across the 2010–2021 program, so the obverse alone will not tell you which site the coin honors — always turn to the reverse for that.

Confirm size and metal. A genuine circulating coin is copper-nickel clad, 24.26 mm across, about 5.67 g, with a reeded edge. Viewed edge-on you should see a thin copper-colored stripe between two silvery faces; that stripe is normal and confirms clad construction. A coin the same size but with a solid silvery edge and no copper line, and a slightly heavier weight, is a silver collector strike rather than a circulating piece.

Locate the mint mark on the obverse, to the right of Washington's neck ribbon. P is Philadelphia, D is Denver, and S is San Francisco — the S coins are proof or uncirculated pieces made for collectors, not for change. Because this is a modern, mass-produced coin, authentication is rarely a concern, but do not confuse it with the large three-inch, five-ounce silver bullion version of the same design: that piece is 76.2 mm across and weighs five ounces, so its size and heft make the difference obvious.