The 1996 film "The Rock" is a military-themed action film about a group of US Marines who take over the former Alcatraz prison island, take the tourists as hostages, and demand a ransom for them. The US Government sends commandos to retake the island. When Alcatraz was a prison it was known as "The Rock."
A British secret agent who successfully escaped from Alcatraz is asked to help the commandos enter the prison. An FBI agent talks to the British agent but insults him by offering him a United States quarter (a 25 cent coin). The coin rolls under a table and the obverse and reverse appear showing that it is a 1974 quarter minted in Philadelphia.

Marine general Hummel gathers some marines and his group steals some weapons from an armory.

They then land at Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay.

Alcatraz Island was a prison until 1963 and since 1973 is part of the Golden Gate National Park which offers tours of the island. The marines take the tourists as hostages and demand a large ransom. The US government gathers Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents and commandos to retake the island and rescue the hostages. FBI agent Dr. Stanley Goodspeed and agent Ernest Paxton are two agents who talk to a federal prisoner named John Patrick Mason, a former British secret agent and commando. John Mason was once a prisoner at Alcatraz in the early 1960's and successfully escaped.

Agent Paxton talks to Mason but when Mason facetiously demands a stay at a luxury hotel Paxton hands him a US quarter and tells him "Here's a quarter. Do yourself a favor. call your lawyer." The quarter rolls along the table.

The coin obverse appears and indicates that the coin is a Washington quarter, minted from 1932 to the present.

The coin reverse appears and the absence of a mint mark indicates that the coin was minted at the Philadelphia Mint. The coin falls to the floor.

The coin date is now visible and it is 1974.

Agent Goodspeed takes over and convinces Mason to assist the retaking of the island. Several battles take place on the island between the marines and the commandos. Finally a bomb is dropped on the island leaving Agent Goodspeed and John Mason alive.

He tells the office that John Mason was killed by the bomb. Mason then tells the agent that he stole a microfilm from the FBI headquarters containing secret information. Mason advises Goodspeed to visit a church at Fort Walton, Kansas and to look in a certain place. Agent Goodspeed and his wife drive to Kansas and locate the church.

Agent Goodspeed retrieves the microfilm.

Sean Connery as Captain John Patrick Mason
Nicolas Cage as FBI Agent Dr. Stanley Goodspeed
Ed Harris as US Marine Corps General Francis X. Hummel
William Forsythe as FBI Agent Ernest Paxton
Director: Michael Bay
Writers: David Weisberg, Douglas S. Cook, Mark Rosner