$2,500 Bounty Claimed for July 4 Quarter

Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC), the official grading company of the American Numismatic Association, has awarded its $2,500 bounty for the first submission of a 2026 Declaration of Independence quarter bearing the special July 4 privy mark. The winning coin was submitted by Mike Trout of Bennettsville, South Carolina.

Introduced in late June, the bounty encouraged collectors to search pocket change and bank rolls for the limited-edition quarter, one of only 250,000 struck by the U.S. Mint to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary in 2026. The special circulation strike features a July 4 privy mark next to Thomas Jefferson’s portrait, the dual date 1776–2026, and no mintmark, distinguishing it from standard Philadelphia and Denver issues.

Although NGC’s contest has ended, collectors still have another opportunity to earn a cash reward. Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) is offering a $5,000 bounty for the first qualifying submission of a July 4 privy-marked quarter. Unlike NGC, PCGS will determine the winner by the earliest qualifying postmark on a submission rather than the order in which submissions are received. The company will wait at least three weeks after receiving the first qualifying coin before announcing a winner to allow any tied submissions with the same postmark date to arrive. If multiple eligible submissions share the earliest postmark, the $5,000 prize will be divided equally among the winners.

As of this writing, PCGS has not announced a winner, so be sure to look closely at any quarter you receive in change!

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