Rare 1976 Quarter Breaks Record with $5.1 Million Auction Sale
In a historic sale that has thrilled numismatists and collectors alike, a unique 1976 Bicentennial quarter, fondly referred to as “The Liberty Drummer,” sold for a record-breaking $5.1 million. This sale not only established a new standard for coin prices but also reignited enthusiasm for the possibilities hidden in ordinary currency. The Record-Breaking Coin: “The Liberty Drummer” Of more than 1.7 billion Bicentennial quarters struck in 1975 and 1976, “The Liberty Drummer” is unique because of its extreme combination of rare minting errors. These errors are: Eleanor Winters, a veteran numismatist, said, “I’ve graded more than 30,000 Bicentennial quarters during my career, and I never thought I’d see something like this.” The Discovery and Auction The journey of the coin from obscurity to celebrity started in spring 2024 when Martin Gladwell, a Cheyenne, Wyoming, retired postal worker, had his late father’s coin collection evaluated. Included among the items was “The Liberty Drummer.” After three independent …