The US quarter greenback, a denomination of foreign money valued at 25 cents, as soon as contained 90% silver. This composition was normal for circulating coinage for a few years. This silver content material offered intrinsic worth past the face worth of the coin itself.
The rising price of silver, coupled with growing demand for coinage, made sustaining the 90% silver normal economically unsustainable. Persevering with to supply silver coinage on the present price would have positioned a big pressure on the nationwide silver reserves. The choice to vary the composition was a practical one pushed by financial realities.