Obverse of redesigned quarter
The '50 State Quarters' program is the release of a series of
commemorative coins by the
United States Mint. Between
1999 and
2008, it is intended to feature each of the 50 individual
U.S. states on unique designs for the
reverse of the
quarter.
The state quarter program
During the program, a new statehood quarter is released by the
United States Mint every "quintile," or 1/5th of a year (73 days); five designs are released each year. Each quarter's reverse celebrates one of the 50 states with a design honoring its unique history, traditions and symbols, usually designed by a resident of that state and chosen by the state government.
The quarters are released in the same order that the
states joined the Union. The
obverse of each quarter is a slight redesign of the previous design of the
quarter.
The statehood quarters program has become one of the most popular commemorative coin programs in
United States history; the United States Mint has estimated that over one hundred million individuals have collected state quarters, either formally or informally.
Applicability to non-states
Although the statehood program is, by
legislation, intended to include only the 50 states, legislation has been introduced five times in the
United States Congress to extend the program an additional year to include the
District of Columbia, the Commonwealths of
Puerto Rico and the
Northern Mariana Islands, and the
U.S. territories of
Guam, the
U.S. Virgin Islands and
American Samoa. During the 106th, 107th, 108th, 109th, and 110th Congresses, these bills had passed through the
House of Representatives, and even had 34 Senate sponsors for the
Senate bill during the 108th; however, none of these bills were passed by the Senate. H.R. 3885,
[1] the version in the 109th Congress, passed the House by voice vote in the early hours of
December 9,
2006, just before it adjourned ''
sine die''; but the Senate adjourned ''sine die'' shortly thereafter without considering the bill. The 110th Congress version of the bill, H.R. 392,
[2] was introduced on
January 10,
2007 by the
Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico Luis Fortuno and was passed by the House of Representatives on
January 23,
2007 where it awaits a Senate vote.
The
1997 act that authorized the statehood quarter program
[3] provided that if the federal district, or any of the territories or commonwealths, became states before 2009, that new state would get a quarter.
Quarter details
| State | Release Date
''(Statehood Date)'' | Mintage Figures | Design | Elements Depicted |
|---|
| Delaware | January 1, 1999
''(December 7, 1787)'' | 774,824,000 |  Delaware quarter | Caesar Rodney on horseback
Captions: "The First State," "Caesar Rodney" |
| Pennsylvania | March 8, 1999
''(December 12, 1787)'' | 707,332,000 |  Pennsylvania quarter | "Commonwealth" statue, state outline, keystone
Caption: "Virtue, Liberty, Independence" |
| New Jersey | May 17, 1999
''(December 18, 1787)'' | 662,228,000 |  New Jersey quarter | "Washington Crossing the Delaware" which includes George Washington and James Monroe (holding flag)
Caption: "Crossroads of the Revolution." |
| Georgia | July 19, 1999
''(January 2, 1788)'' | 939,932,000 |  Georgia quarter | Peach, Live oak sprigs, state outline
Banner with text: "Wisdom, Justice, Moderation" (the state motto) |
| Connecticut | October 12, 1999
''(January 9, 1788)'' | 1,346,624,000 |  Connecticut quarter | Charter Oak
Caption: "The Charter Oak" |
| Massachusetts | January 3, 2000
''(February 6, 1788)'' | 1,163,784,000 |  Massachusetts quarter | "The Minuteman" statue, state outline
Caption: "The Bay State" |
| Maryland | March 13, 2000
''(April 28, 1788)'' | 1,234,732,000 |  Maryland quarter | Dome of the Maryland state house, White oak clusters
Caption: "The Old Line State" |
| South Carolina | May 22, 2000
''(May 23, 1788)'' | 1,308,784,000 |  South Carolina quarter | Palmetto tree, Carolina Wren, Yellow Jessamine, state outline
Caption: "The Palmetto State" |
| New Hampshire | August 7, 2000
''(June 21, 1788)'' | 1,169,016,000 |  New Hampshire quarter | "The Old Man of the Mountain," nine stars
Captions: "Old Man of the Mountain," "Live Free or Die" |
| Virginia | October 16, 2000
''(June 25, 1788)'' | 1,594,616,000 |  Virginia quarter | Ships ''Susan Constant'', ''Godspeed'', ''Discovery''
Captions: "Jamestown, 1607-2007," "Quadricentennial" |
| New York | January 2, 2001
''(July 26, 1788)'' | 1,275,040,000 |  New York quarter | Statue of Liberty, eleven stars, state outline with line tracing Hudson River and Erie Canal
Caption: "Gateway to Freedom" |
| North Carolina | March 12, 2001
''(November 21, 1789)'' | 1,055,476,000 |  North Carolina quarter | Wright Flyer, Wilbur and Orville Wright
Caption: "First Flight" |
| Rhode Island | May 21, 2001
''(May 29, 1790)'' | 870,100,000 |  Rhode Island quarter | Vintage sailboat in Narragansett Bay, Pell Bridge
Caption: "The Ocean State" |
| Vermont | August 6, 2001
''(March 4, 1791)'' | 882,804,000 |  Vermont quarter | Maple trees with sap buckets, Camel's Hump Mountain
Caption: "Freedom and Unity" |
| Kentucky | October 15, 2001
''(June 1, 1792)'' | 723,564,000 |  Kentucky quarter | Thoroughbred racehorse behind fence, Bardstown mansion, Federal Hill
Caption: "My Old Kentucky Home" |
| Tennessee | January 2, 2002
''(June 1, 1796)'' | 648,068,000 |  Tennessee quarter | Fiddle, trumpet, guitar, musical score, three stars
Banner with text: "Musical Heritage." |
| Ohio | March 18, 2002
''(March 1, 1803)'' | 632,032,000 |  Ohio quarter | Wright Flyer, Astronaut (Neil Armstrong, first man on the Moon, is a native of Wapakoneta), state outline
Caption: "Birthplace of Aviation Pioneers" |
| Louisiana | May 30, 2002
''(April 30, 1812)'' | 764,204,000 |  Louisiana quarter | Pelican; trumpet with musical notes, outline of Louisiana Purchase on map of U.S.
Caption: "Louisiana Purchase" |
| Indiana | August 8, 2002
''(December 11, 1816)'' | 689,800,000 |  Indiana quarter | IndyCar, state outline, 19 stars
Caption: "Crossroads of America" |
| Mississippi | October 15, 2002
''(December 10, 1817)'' | 579,600,000 |  Mississippi quarter | Two magnolia blossoms
Caption: "The Magnolia State" |
| Illinois | January 2, 2003
''(December 3, 1818)'' | 463,200,000 |  Illinois quarter | Young Abraham Lincoln; farm scene; Chicago skyline; state outline; 21 stars, 11 on left edge and 10 on right
Captions: "Land of Lincoln;" "21st state/century." |
| Alabama | March 17, 2003
''(December 14, 1819)'' | 457,400,000 |  Alabama quarter | Helen Keller, seated, longleaf pine branch, Magnolia blossoms
Banner with text: "Spirit of Courage"
Caption: "Helen Keller" in standard print and Braille. |
| Maine | June 2, 2003
''(March 15, 1820)'' | 448,800,000 |  Maine quarter | Pemaquid Point Lighthouse; schooner at sea |
| Missouri | August 4, 2003
''(August 10, 1821)'' | 453,200,000 |  Missouri quarter | Gateway Arch, Lewis and Clark returning down Missouri River
Caption: "Corps of Discovery 1804-2004." |
| Arkansas | October 20, 2003
''(June 15, 1836)'' | 457,800,000 |  Arkansas quarter | Diamond, rice stalks, mallard duck flying above a lake |
| Michigan | January 26, 2004
''(January 26, 1837)'' | 459,600,000 |  Michigan quarter | State outline, outline of Great Lakes system
Caption: "Great Lakes State" |
| Florida | March 29, 2004
''(March 3, 1845)'' | 481,800,000 |  Florida quarter | Spanish galleon, Sabal palm trees, Space Shuttle
Caption: "Gateway to Discovery" |
| Texas | June 1, 2004
''(December 29, 1845)'' | 541,800,000 |  Texas quarter | State outline, star, rope
Caption: "The Lone Star State" |
| Iowa | August 30, 2004
''(December 28, 1846)'' | 465,200,000 |  Iowa quarter | Schoolhouse, teacher and students planting a tree,
Captions: "Foundation in Education", "Grant Wood" |
| Wisconsin | October 25, 2004
''(May 29, 1848)'' | 453,200,000 |  Wisconsin quarter | Head of a cow, round of cheese and ear of corn.
Banner with text: "Forward" |
| California | January 31, 2005
''(September 9, 1850)'' | 520,400,000 |  California quarter | John Muir, California Condor, Half Dome, and Giant Sequoia
Captions: "John Muir," "Yosemite Valley" |
| Minnesota | April 4, 2005
''(May 11, 1858)'' | 488,000,000 |  Minnesota quarter | Common loon, Fishing, state map
Caption: "Land of 10,000 Lakes" |
| Oregon | June 6, 2005
''(February 14, 1859)'' | 720,200,000 |  Oregon quarter | Crater Lake National Park
Caption: "Crater Lake" |
| Kansas | August 29, 2005
''(January 29, 1861)'' | 563,400,000 |  Kansas quarter | American Bison, Sunflowers |
| West Virginia | October 14, 2005
''(June 20, 1863)'' | 721,600,000 |  West Virginia quarter | New River Gorge Bridge
Caption: "New River Gorge" |
| Nevada | January 31, 2006
''(October 31, 1864)'' | 589,800,000 |  Nevada quarter | Mustangs, mountains, rising sun, Sagebrush
Banner with text: "The Silver State" |
| Nebraska | April 3, 2006
''(March 1, 1867)'' | 591,000,000 |  Nebraska quarter | Chimney Rock, covered wagon
Caption: "Chimney Rock" |
| Colorado | June 14, 2006
''(August 1, 1876)'' | 569,000,000 |  Colorado quarter | Longs Peak
Banner with text: "Colorful Colorado" |
| North Dakota | August 28, 2006
''(November 2, 1889)'' | 664,800,000 |  North Dakota quarter | Bison, badlands |
| South Dakota | November 6, 2006
''(November 2, 1889)'' | 510,800,000 |  South Dakota quarter | Mount Rushmore, Ring-necked Pheasant, Wheat |
| Montana | January 29, 2007
''(November 8, 1889)'' | 513,240,000 |  Montana quarter | Bison skull in the center with mountains and the Missouri River in the background.
Caption: "Big Sky Country" |
| Washington | April 11, 2007
''(November 11, 1889)'' | 545,200,000 |  Washington quarter | Salmon leaping in front of Mount Rainier
Caption: "The Evergreen State" |
| Idaho | June 5, 2007[1]
''(July 3, 1890)'' | |  Idaho quarter | Peregrine falcon, state outline
Caption: "Esto Perpetua" |
| Wyoming | September 4, 2007
''(July 10, 1890)'' | |  Wyoming quarter | Outline of a bucking bronco,
Caption: "The Equality State" |
| Utah | 2007
''(January 4, 1896)'' | |  Utah quarter | Golden Spike and the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad
Caption: Crossroads of the West |
| Oklahoma | 2008
''(November 16, 1907)'' | |  Oklahoma quarter | Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, with Indian Blankets (the state wildflower) in background |
| New Mexico | 2008
''(January 6, 1912)'' | |  New Mexico quarter | State outline, Zia Sun Symbol from flag
Caption: "Land of Enchantment" |
| Arizona | 2008
''(February 14, 1912)'' | |  Arizona quarter | Grand Canyon, Saguaro closeup.
Caption: "Grand Canyon State" |
| Alaska | 2008
''(January 3, 1959)'' | |  Alaska quarter | Grizzly bear with salmon
Caption: "The Great Land" |
| Hawaii | 2008
''(August 21, 1959)'' | |  Hawaii quarter | Statue of Kamehameha with state outline and motto
Caption: Ua Mau ke Ea o ka Aina i ka Pono |
''Quarter-dollar coin images from the United States Mint.''
Year map
'The following map shows the years each state is released as a State Quarter.'  State Quarters Year Map.png |
Collectible value
The U.S. Mint designed the state quarters series, not as a potentially valuable
collectible, but as a way of spurring interest in U.S. coinage - which had seen relatively few changes in design in the past 50 years - and in
U.S. history. While mintage totals of the various designs vary widely – Virginia quarters are almost four times more abundant than Maine issues — none of the regular circulating issues are rare enough to become valuable investments.
There was, however, a measure of collector interest and controversy over
die errors in the Wisconsin quarter. Some designs feature corn without a smaller leaf, others feature a small leaf pointing upwards, and still others have the leaf bending down.
[4] A set of all three quarters from the Philadelphia mint sold on
eBay in February 2005 for $300, and have since seen significant increases.
A 2005 Minnesota double die quarter, as well as a 2005 Minnesota quarter with extra trees (another die error), have both triggered numismatic interest. An unusual die break on some 2005 Kansas quarters created a humpback bison.
[5] Relatively more common are Kansas quarters sporting the motto "IN GOD WE RUST".
[6]
The
1999 silver
proof coinage set is valuable, being the first year of the series and with a relatively small mintage. (The set in base metal is worth only a fraction as much.)
The
Franklin Mint altered 40,000 California quarters by putting the comic book superhero the
Silver Surfer on the back. This was done to promote the film .
[7]
Seigniorage
Seigniorage is the profit gained by a government when it issues currency. The
U.S. government discovered at the launch of the State Quarters series that a large number of people were collecting each new quarter as it rolled out of the U.S. Mint, taking the pieces out of circulation. Since it costs the Mint less than five cents for each 25-cent piece it produces, the government made a profit whenever someone bought a coin and chose not to spend it. The
U.S. Treasury estimates that it has earned about $4.6 billion in seigniorage revenue from the quarters so far.
[8]
Design issues and trivia
Series
★ On
May 4,
2005, ''
The Onion'' ran a satirical news story titled "U.S. Mint Gears Up To Issue Commemorative County Pennies".
[9]
★ Occasionally, the ''
Late Night with Conan O'Brien''
television show will air a segment about fictional satirical designs for new state quarters.
★ Several quarters have stars as part of their design. On the designs for New Hampshire, New York, Indiana, and Illinois, the stars represent the order in which the state either ratified the Constitution (New Hampshire and New York) or was admitted as a state (Indiana and Illinois). For example, New Hampshire has nine stars, as it is the ninth state. The three stars in the background of Tennessee's design symbolize the three
Grand Divisions of the state;
East Tennessee,
Middle Tennessee, and
West Tennessee, and not the state's entry number (as Tennessee was the sixteenth state to be admitted to the Union). Tennessee also has three stars on its flag, representing the Grand Divisions.
★
Texas has a star representing its title as the ''Lone Star State''. A common joke among Texans is that the state government asked to have a larger quarter than the other states, but was denied permission by the Mint.
Individual state designs
★ 'Alabama:' The Alabama state quarter is the first coin circulated in the U.S. that features
Braille writing. It also is the first coin circulated in the U.S. featuring a member of the
Socialist Party.
★ 'Colorado:' William Eugene Rollins designed the quarter in a contest held in 2005. The quarter shows the landscape of Colorado's nature side with a mountain and some pine trees.
★ 'Connecticut:' The
Charter Oak on the back of the Connecticut quarter fell during a storm on
August 21,
1856. It also appears on a
1936 half dollar commemorating the 300th anniversary of the state's settlement by Europeans.
★ 'Hawaii:' The Hawaii quarter features a rendition of the statue of
Kamehameha I, who united the Hawaiian Islands in 1810, with the state outline and motto
Caption:
Ua Mau ke Ea o ka Aina i ka Pono, which means "The Life of the Land is Perpetuated in Righteousness."
★ 'Illinois:' The Illinois quarter is the only quarter to directly reference and portray an urban city, with a picture of the
Chicago skyline. It is also the first coin to feature George Washington and Abraham Lincoln on the same coin.
★ 'Indiana:' The Indiana quarter — having a problem similar to Georgia's quarter — is missing part of its northwestern corner. Lake County is either partially or completely missing (where it borders with Lake Michigan). The error did not garner considerable notice.
★ 'Iowa:' When Iowans were debating the design for its state quarter in 2002, there was a grassroots effort to use a design featuring the
Sullivan brothers (to honor the five
Waterloo siblings who died when the ship they were aboard — the
USS Juneau (CL-52) — sank during the
Naval Battle of Guadalcanal,
1942). The effort was ultimately unsuccessful, and a
Grant Wood design was used, but not before some copyright issues were resolved.
[10][11]
★ 'Maryland' Maryland's design features the
Maryland State House. Completed in 1779, it is the oldest state house in the country in continuous use by the legislature. Among other things, this building hosted the US
Congress of the Confederation in 1783 and 1784,
The treaty of Paris ending the
American Revolutionary War was ratified by Congress there in 1784, and
George Washington resigned his post as commander in chief there in December of 1783. Also, the wooden dome capping the structure was built without nails, the largest one in the nation to have that distinction. The motto, "The Old Line State," refers to a line of 400 continental soldiers from Maryland who fought bravely and steadfastly in the American Revolutionary War. They held off British soldiers under the command of
General Clinton on
Brooklyn Heights giving other American soldiers in
New York City time to escape across the Hudson River. Duly impressed by their service, George Washington bequeathed the honorable motto upon Maryland.
★ 'Minnesota:' Many safety groups are pointing out the fact that on the state quarter, the men fishing from the boat are not wearing life jackets.
★ 'Missouri:' A design contest winner for the Missouri quarter, Paul Jackson, has claimed that the Mint
engraver's interpretation of the design was "dumbed down". The Mint stated that Jackson's design was not coinable, but a private mint later demonstrated that it was. It emerged that Mint engravers hold a monopoly on the design of U.S. coinage, and the term "design contest" was dropped from solicitations for ideas for later state quarters.
[12][13]
★ 'Nebraska:' One of the final concepts for the Nebraska quarter was based on the
Ponca leader
Standing Bear, who, in a suit brought against the federal government, successfully argued that Native Americans were citizens entitled to rights under the U.S. Constitution.
★ 'Nevada:' The Nevada quarter's theme is "Morning in Nevada," and the artist described the scene as depicting the sun rising behind the
Sierra Nevada mountains. However, the Sierra Nevada mountains form most of the western border of northern Nevada, and to the south lie entirely west of the state—the only place one can watch a sun rise over the Sierras is in California. But the mountains depicted could easily be any one of dozens of mountain ridges in the
Basin and Range region that covers most of the state. The quarter depicts wild horses, an invasive species that was nonexistent in Nevada at the time of European colonization, and the sagebrush bears the flowers of a different species of plant.
★ 'New Hampshire:' The
Old Man of the Mountain, featured on the back of the New Hampshire quarter, collapsed in
2003.
★ 'South Dakota:' Although South Dakota has the second highest proportion of
American Indians of any state, the South Dakota quarter features three items that are the result of European settlement. These symbols are Mount Rushmore, which is carved into the
Black Hills which are seen as sacred by the
Lakota, a
pheasant (an
exotic species), and
wheat, which has replaced tens of thousands of square miles of diverse
grasslands.
★ 'Tennessee:' There has also been some controversy over the Tennessee quarter. Some sources claim that the details on the instruments depicted on the quarter are inaccurate, such as the number of strings on the guitar and the location of the tubing on the trumpet.
★ 'West Virginia:' During the submission process for the design of the West Virginia quarter, there was an apparent movement to put the famous
Mothman on the final design.
★ 'Wisconsin:' A number of the Wisconsin quarters featured a small misprint: the ear of
corn features an extra leaf. Some of the affected coins feature a "low leaf", others feature a "high leaf". All of these "
error coins" were minted at the
Denver mint. It is unclear whether the error was deliberate or accidental, but the error has sparked a collector frenzy. Sets of the flawed coins have been sold on
eBay for up to $2800.
[14][15]
References
1. H.R.3885
2. H.R.392
3. 50 States Commemorative Coin Program Act
4. Snopes.com: Cornstalked
5. , , , , Coin World,
6. In God We Rust - A State Quarter Error Caused by a Filled Die Strike Through Susan Headley
7. Mint not happy with 'Silver Surfer' coin Sandy Cohen
8. H.R. 902, Presidential Coin Act of 2005, As ordered reported by the House Committee on Financial Services on March 16, 2005
9. U.S. Mint Gears Up To Issue Commemorative County Pennies
10. Quarter design will not be put up for a vote
11. Grant Wood dominates field
12. Quartergate
13. 50-State Quarters: Credit Where Credit Is Due
14. Coin collectors flip, rumors fly after quarters sprout extra leaf
15. State quarter's extra leaf grew out of lunch break
See also
★
United States Mint
★
United States Commemorative Coin
★
Westward Journey Nickel Series
★
Presidential $1 Coin Program
★
Quarter (U.S. coin)
External links
★
The 50 State Quarters Program of the United States Mint Official Website
★
50 States Commemorative Coin Program Act
★
State Quarter Designs
★
Trade State Quarters
★ http://money.cnn.com/2003/05/15/pf/banking/quarter_curse/
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