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The 50 State Quarters program is the release of a series of commemorative coins by the United States Mint. Between 1999 and 2008 (the anticipated completion date), it features 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 the same, but is a 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.
Although the statehood program is, by legislation, intended to include only the 50 states, legislation has twice been introduced in 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. As of June 2005, this legislation had not reached a floor vote.
However, the 1997 act that authorized the statehood quarter program 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 | Caesar Rodney on horseback Captions: "The First State," "Caesar Rodney" | |
| Pennsylvania | March 8, 1999 (December 12, 1787) | 707,332,000 | "Commonwealth" statue, state outline, keystone Caption: "Virtue, Liberty, Independence" | |
| New Jersey | May 17, 1999 (December 18, 1787) | 662,228,000 | "Washington Crossing the Delaware" Caption: "Crossroads of the Revolution." | |
| Georgia | July 19, 1999 (January 2, 1788) | 939,932,000 | Peach, Live oak sprigs, state outline Banner with text: "Wisdom, Justice, Moderation" | |
| Connecticut | October 12, 1999 (January 9, 1788) | 1,346,624,000 | Charter Oak Caption: "The Charter Oak" | |
| Massachusetts | January 3, 2000 (February 6, 1788) | 1,163,784,000 | "The Minuteman" statue, state outline Caption: "The Bay State" | |
| Maryland | March 13, 2000 (April 28, 1788) | 1,234,732,000 | 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 | Palmetto tree, Carolina Wren, Yellow Jessamine, state outline Caption: "The Palmetto State" | |
| New Hampshire | August 7, 2000 (June 21, 1788) | 1,169,016,000 | "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 | Ships Susan Constant, Godspeed, Discovery Captions: "Jamestown, 1607-2007," "Quadricentennial" | |
| New York | January 2, 2001 (July 26, 1788) | 1,275,040,000 | 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 | Wright Flyer, Wilbur and Orville Wright Caption: "First Flight" | |
| Rhode Island | May 21, 2001 (May 29, 1790) | 870,100,000 | Vintage sailboat in Narragansett Bay, Pell Bridge Caption: "The Ocean State" | |
| Vermont | August 6, 2001 (March 4, 1791) | 882,804,000 | Maple trees with sap buckets, Camel's Hump Mountain Caption: "Freedom and Unity" | |
| Kentucky | October 15, 2001 (June 1, 1792) | 723,564,000 | Thoroughbred racehorse behind fence, Federal Hill mansion Caption: "My Old Kentucky Home" | |
| Tennessee | January 2, 2002 (June 1, 1796) | 648,068,000 | Fiddle, trumpet, guitar, musical score, three stars Banner with text: "Musical Heritage." | |
| Ohio | March 18, 2002 (March 1, 1803) | 632,032,000 | Wright Flyer, spacesuit, state outline Caption: "Birthplace of Aviation Pioneers" | |
| Louisiana | May 30, 2002 (April 30, 1812) | 764,204,000 | Pelican; trumpet with musical notes, outline of Louisiana Purchase on map of U.S. Caption: "Louisiana Purchase" | |
| Indiana | August 2, 2002 (December 11, 1816) | 689,800,000 | Racecar, state outline, 19 stars Caption: "Crossroads of America" | |
| Mississippi | October 15, 2002 (December 10, 1817) | 579,600,000 | Two magnolia blossoms Caption: "The Magnolia State" | |
| Illinois | January 2, 2003 (December 3, 1818) | 463,200,000 | 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 | 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 | Pemaquid Point Lighthouse; schooner at sea | |
| Missouri | August 4, 2003 (August 10, 1821) | 453,200,000 | 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 | Diamond, rice stalks, mallard duck flying above a lake | |
| Michigan | January 26, 2004 (January 26, 1837) | 459,600,000 | State outline, outline of Great Lakes system Caption: "Great Lakes State" | |
| Florida | March 29, 2004 (March 3, 1845) | 481,800,000 | Spanish galleon, Sabal palm trees, Space Shuttle Caption: "Gateway to Discovery" | |
| Texas | June 1, 2004 (December 29, 1845) | 541,800,000 | State outline, star, rope Caption: "The Lone Star State" | |
| Iowa | August 30, 2004 (December 28, 1846) | 465,200,000 | Schoolhouse, teacher and students planting a tree, Captions: "Foundation in Education", "Grant Wood" | |
| Wisconsin | October 25, 2004 (May 29, 1848) | 453,200,000 | 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 | John Muir, California Condor, Half Dome, and Giant Sequoia Captions: "John Muir," "Yosemite Valley" | |
| Minnesota | April 4, 2005 (May 11, 1858) | 488,000,000 | Common loon, Fishing, state map Caption: "Land of 10,000 Lakes" | |
| Oregon | June 6, 2005 (February 14, 1859) | 720,200,000 | Crater Lake National Park Caption: "Crater Lake" | |
| Kansas | August 29, 2005 (January 29, 1861) | 563,400,000 | American Bison, Sunflowers | |
| West Virginia | 14 October, 2005 (June 20, 1863) | 721,600,000 | New River Gorge Bridge Caption: "New River Gorge" | |
| Nevada | January 31, 2006 (October 31, 1864) | 589,800,000 | Mustangs, mountains, rising sun, Sagebrush Banner with text: "The Silver State" | |
| Nebraska | April 3, 2006 (March 1, 1867) | 591,000,000 | Chimney Rock, covered wagon Caption: "Chimney Rock" | |
| Colorado | 2006 (August 1, 1876) | current | Longs Peak Banner with text: "Colorful Colorado" | |
| North Dakota | 2006 (November 2, 1889) | Bison, grassland | ||
| South Dakota | 2006 (November 2, 1889) | Mount Rushmore, Ring-necked Pheasant, Wheat | ||
| Montana | 2007 (November 8, 1889) | |||
| Washington | 2007 (November 11, 1889) | |||
| Idaho | 2007 (July 3, 1890) | |||
| Wyoming | 2007 (July 10, 1890) | |||
| Utah | 2007 (January 4, 1896) | |||
| Oklahoma | 2008 (November 16, 1907) | |||
| New Mexico | 2008 (January 6, 1912) | |||
| Arizona | 2008 (February 14, 1912) | |||
| Alaska | 2008 (January 3, 1959) | |||
| Hawaii | 2008 (August 21, 1959) |
Year map
| Color | Year | 1st State | 2nd State | 3rd State | 4th State | 5th State |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | || Delaware ||Pennsylvania ||New Jersey ||Georgia ||Connecticut||||||
| 2000 | ||Massachusetts ||Maryland ||South Carolina ||New Hampshire ||Virginia||||||
| 2001 | ||New York ||North Carolina ||Rhode Island ||Vermont ||Kentucky||||||
| 2002 | ||Tennessee ||Ohio ||Louisiana ||Indiana ||Mississippi||||||
| 2003 | ||Illinois ||Alabama ||Maine ||Missouri ||Arkansas||||||
| 2004 | ||Michigan ||Florida ||Texas ||Iowa ||Wisconsin||||||
| 2005 | ||California ||Minnesota ||Oregon ||Kansas ||West Virginia||||||
| 2006 | ||Nevada ||Nebraska ||Colorado ||North Dakota ||South Dakota||||||
| 2007 | ||Montana ||Washington ||Idaho ||Wyoming ||Utah||||||
| 2008 | ||Oklahoma ||New Mexico ||Arizona ||Alaska ||Hawaii
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 sufficiently 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. * A set of all three quarters from the Philadelphia mint sold on eBay in February 2005 for $300.
No other variations on any other state quarter issues have been noted as of 2005.
Design issues and Trivia
- 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. * (PDF)
- Shortly after the Georgia quarter was released, there was an article in the Chattanooga Times-Free Press about an apparent mistake in the quarter. The outline of the state of Georgia on the quarter appears to have accidentally left out Dade County, which is the county in the extreme northwestern part of the state.
- 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.
- It was pointed out that the original design and the final actual coin of the Ohio quarter differed; the inscription "Birthplace of Aviation Pioneers" read simply "Birthplace of Aviation" on the original submitted design.
- 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.
- One of the final concepts for the Tennessee quarter was based on the Native American leader Sequoyah, who created the Cherokee alphabet.
- 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.
- The Charter Oak on the back of the Connecticut quarter fell during a storm on August 21, 1856.
- The Old Man of the Mountain, featured on the back of the New Hampshire quarter, collapsed in 2003.
- 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.
- 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 Guandalcanal in 1942). The effort was ultimately unsuccessful, and a Grant Wood design was used ... but not before some copyright issues were resolved. [http://www.qctimes.net/articles/2002/08/23/morning_edition/export41037.txt
- 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 ratified the Constitution. 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. Texas has a star representing its title as the Lone Star State.
- The Alabama state quarter is the first coin circulated in the U.S. that features Braille writing.
- 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 lie entirely west of Nevada — the only place one can watch a sun rise over the Sierras is in California. 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.
- The North Carolina quarter states "First Flight" although state license plates state "First in Flight". This change for the quarter is rumored to be due to conflicts with Ohio over the first flight. Ohio claims that since the Wright brothers were born in Ohio (even though Wilbur was born in Indiana), then Ohio is truly first in flight and North Carolina simply had the first flight. No doubt this conflict lead to the change in Ohio's statement on their quarter as mentioned above.
- On May 4, 2005, The Onion ran a satirical news story titled "U.S. Mint Gears Up To Issue Commemorative County Pennies" *.
- Occasionally, the Late Night with Conan O'Brien television show will air a segment about the new state quarters.
See also
- United States Mint
- United States Commemorative Coin
- Westward Journey Nickel Series
- Quarter (U.S. coin)
Sources
- * "Quarter design will not be put up for a vote," Quad City Times, July 20, 2002 (accessed May 16, 2006).
- * "Grant Wood dominates field," Quad City Times, August 23, 2002 (accessed May 16, 2006).
External links
"50 State Quarters"