50 State Quarters

For the quarters issued in 2009, see District of Columbia and United States Territories Quarter Program. For the quarters issued from 2010 to the present, see America the Beautiful quarters.

The 50 State Quarters program (Pub.L. 105-124, 111 Stat. 2534, enacted December 1, 1997) is the release of a series of circulating commemorative coins by the United States Mint. Between 1999 and 2008, it featured each of the 50 U.S. states on unique designs for the reverse of the quarter.

In 2009, the U.S. Mint started issuing quarters under the 2009 District of Columbia and U.S. Territories Program, authorized by the passage of H.R. 2764. This program features the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Northern Mariana Islands.^[1] While the Territories Quarter Program is authorized under a different legislative Act, it is typically seen as an extension of the 50 State Quarters program.

The program was conceived as a means of creating a new generation of coin collectors, and in that it succeeded.^[2][3] The 50 State Quarters program became the most successful numismatic program in history, with roughly half of the U.S. population collecting the coins, either in casual manner or as a serious pursuit.^[4] The U.S. federal government so far has made additional profits of $3.0 billion from collectors taking the coins out of circulation.^[5]

Treasury Opposition and Congressional Enactment

The program's origins lie with the Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory Committee (CCCAC), which was appointed by Secretary of Treasury Lloyd Bentsen in December 1993 and chaired by Mint Director Philip N. Diehl. From the first days of the CCCAC, one of its members, David Ganz, urged the committee to endorse the 50 States Quarters program, and in 1995, the CCCAC did so. The committee then sought the support of Representative Michael Castle (R-Delaware), chairman of the House Banking subcommittee with jurisdiction over the nation's coinage. Mr. Castle's initial caution was resolved when the Mr. Diehl suggested the coins be issued in the order the States entered the Union. (Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution). Mr. Castle subsequently held hearings and filed legislation to authorize the program.^[6]

Despite the support of the Director of the Mint and the Treasury Secretary-appointed CCCAC, the Treasury Department opposed the 50 States Quarters program, citing concerns about the "Disneyfication" of American coinage. The Mint's economic models estimated the program would earn the government between $2.6 billion and $5.1 billion in additional seignorage and $110 million in additional numismatic profits. Mr. Diehl and Mr. Castle used these profit projections to urge Treasury's support, but Treasury officials found the projections to lack credibility. (At the program's conclusion, the Mint estimated the program had earned $3.0 billion in additional seigniorage and $136.2 million in additional numismatic profits.)^[5]

Mr. Diehl worked with Mr. Castle behind the scenes to move legislation forward despite Treasury's opposition to the program.^[2][7] In an attempt to derail the legislation, the Treasury suggested to Mr. Castle that the Department conduct a study to determine the feasibility of the program. Such studies are a time-honored device used in Washington to placate proponents of proposals while using the delay to kill them. With Mr. Diehl's advice, Mr. Castle accepted the Treasury offer, and the agreement was codified in the United States Commemorative Coin Act of 1996.^[8][9] The Act also authorized the Secretary to proceed with the 50 States Quarters program without further congressional action if the results of the feasibility study were favorable.

In 1996, the Treasury formed a committee to oversee the feasibility study. No U.S. Mint representatives or outside supporters of the program were appointed. However, several Treasury staff who knew the conclusions Treasury sought were included. The Department engaged the consulting firm Coopers and Lybrand to conduct the study which, to Treasury's dismay, confirmed the Mint's demand, seigniorage and numismatic profit projections for the program. Among other conclusions, the study found that 98 million Americans were likely to save one or more full sets of the quarters. (At the program's conclusion, the Mint estimated that 147 million Americans collected the 50 State Quarters.) Nevertheless, the Treasury Department continued to oppose the program and declined to proceed with it without a congressional mandate to do so.^[5]

In 1997, Congress issued that mandate in the form of S. 1228, the "United States Commemorative Coin Program Act", which was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on December 1, 1997.

State quarter program

Obverse of redesigned proof quarter; note the "S" mint mark.

The 50 State Quarters were released by the United States Mint every ten weeks, or five each year. They were released in the same order that the states ratified the Constitution. Each quarter's reverse commemorated one of the 50 states with a design emblematic of its unique history, traditions and symbols. Certain design elements, such as state flags, images of living persons, and head-and-shoulder images of deceased persons, were prohibited.

The authorizing legislation and Mint procedures gave states a substantial role and considerable discretion in determining the design that would represent their state. The majority of states followed a process by which the governor solicited the state’s citizens to submit design concepts and appointed an advisory group to oversee the process. Governors submitted three to five finalist design concepts to the Secretary of Treasury for approval. Approved designs were returned to the states for selection of a final design.

States typically employed one of two approaches in making this selection. In 33 states, the governor selected the final recommended design, often based on the recommendations of advisory groups and citizens. In the other 17 states, citizens selected the final design through online, telephone, mail or other public votes. U.S. Mint engravers executed all final design concepts approved by the Secretary of Treasury. The media and public attention surrounding this process and the release of each state's quarter was intense and produced significant media for the program.^[5][10]

The statehood quarters program was the most popular commemorative coin program in United States history; the United States Mint has estimated that 147 million Americans have collected state quarters and 3.5 million participated in the selection of state quarter designs.^[5]

By the end of 2008, all of the original 50 states quarters had been minted and released. The official total, according to the U.S. Mint, was 34,797,600,000 coins. The average mintage was 695,952,000 coins per state, but ranged between Virginia's 1,594,616,000 to Oklahoma's 416,600,000. Demand was stronger for quarters issued early in the program. This was due to weakening economic conditions in later years and the waning of the initial surge of demand when the program was launched. Another factor was the reassertion of the Treasury Department's opposition to the program. When the Director's term ended in 2000, the Treasury proceeded to reduce and finally terminate the most effective elements of the Mint's promotional program despite the high return on investment they earned.

Mintages by minting facility for each state and territory can be found at [4]

Designs

Year	State	Release Date (Statehood Date)[11]	Mintage[12]	Design	Elements Depicted	Engraver
1999	Delaware	January 1, 1999 (December 7, 1787)	774,824,000		Caesar Rodney on horseback Captions: "The First State", "Caesar Rodney"	William Cousins
	Pennsylvania	March 8, 1999 (December 12, 1787)	707,332,000		Commonwealth statue, state outline, keystone Caption: "Virtue, Liberty, Independence"	John Mercanti
	New Jersey	May 17, 1999 (December 18, 1787)	662,228,000		Washington Crossing the Delaware, which includes George Washington (standing) and James Monroe (holding the flag) Caption: "Crossroads of the Revolution"	Alfred Maletsky
	Georgia	July 19, 1999 (January 2, 1788)	939,932,000		Peach, live oak (state tree) sprigs, state outline Banner with text: "Wisdom, Justice, Moderation" (the state motto)	T. James Ferrell
	Connecticut	October 12, 1999 (January 9, 1788)	1,346,624,000		Charter Oak Caption: "The Charter Oak"	T. James Ferrell
2000	Massachusetts	January 3, 2000 (February 6, 1788)	1,163,784,000		The Minuteman statue, state outline Caption: "The Bay State"	Thomas D. Rodgers
	Maryland	March 13, 2000 (April 28, 1788)	1,234,732,000		Dome of the Maryland State House, white oak (state tree) clusters Caption: "The Old Line State"	Thomas D. Rodgers
	South Carolina	May 22, 2000 (May 23, 1788)	1,308,784,000		Carolina wren (state bird), yellow jessamine (state flower), cabbage palmetto (state tree), state outline Caption: "The Palmetto State"	Thomas D. Rodgers
	New Hampshire	August 7, 2000 (June 21, 1788)	1,169,016,000		Old Man of the Mountain, nine stars Captions: "Old Man of the Mountain", "Live Free or Die"	William Cousins
	Virginia	October 16, 2000 (June 25, 1788)	1,594,616,000		Ships Susan Constant, Godspeed, Discovery Captions: "Jamestown, 1607-2007", "Quadricentennial"	Edgar Z. Steever
2001	New York	January 2, 2001 (July 26, 1788)	1,275,040,000		Statue of Liberty, 11 stars, state outline with line tracing Hudson River and Erie Canal Caption: "Gateway to Freedom"	Alfred Maletsky
	North Carolina	March 12, 2001 (November 21, 1789)	1,055,476,000		Wright Flyer, John T. Daniels's iconic photo of the Wright brothers Caption: "First Flight"	John Mercanti
	Rhode Island	May 21, 2001 (May 29, 1790)	870,100,000		America's Cup yacht Reliance on Narragansett Bay, Pell Bridge Caption: "The Ocean State"	Thomas D. Rodgers
	Vermont	August 6, 2001 (March 4, 1791)	882,804,000		Maple trees with sap buckets, Camel's Hump Mountain Caption: "Freedom and Unity"	T. James Ferrell
	Kentucky	October 15, 2001 (June 1, 1792)	723,564,000		Thoroughbred racehorse behind fence, Bardstown mansion, Federal Hill Caption: "My Old Kentucky Home"	T. James Ferrell
2002	Tennessee	January 2, 2002 (June 1, 1796)	648,068,000		Fiddle, trumpet, guitar, musical score, three stars Banner with text: "Musical Heritage"	Donna Weaver
	Ohio	March 18, 2002 (March 1, 1803)	632,032,000		Wright Flyer, Astronaut (Neil Armstrong, first man on the Moon, is a native of Wapakoneta), state outline Caption: "Birthplace of Aviation Pioneers"	Donna Weaver
	Louisiana	May 30, 2002 (April 30, 1812)	764,204,000		Brown Pelican (state bird); trumpet with musical notes, outline of Louisiana Purchase on map of U.S. Caption: "Louisiana Purchase"	John Mercanti
	Indiana	August 8, 2002 (December 11, 1816)	689,800,000		IndyCar, state outline, 19 stars Caption: "Crossroads of America"	Donna Weaver
	Mississippi	October 15, 2002 (December 10, 1817)	579,600,000		Two magnolia blossoms (state flower) Caption: "The Magnolia State"	Donna Weaver
2003	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"	Donna Weaver
	Alabama	March 17, 2003 (December 14, 1819)	457,400,000		Helen Keller, seated, Longleaf Pine branch (state tree), Magnolia blossoms Banner with text: "Spirit of Courage" Caption: "Helen Keller" in standard print and Braille	Norman E. Nemeth
	Maine	June 2, 2003 (March 15, 1820)	448,800,000		Pemaquid Point Lighthouse; the schooner Victory Chimes [13] at sea	Donna Weaver
	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"	Alfred Maletsky
	Arkansas	October 20, 2003 (June 15, 1836)	457,800,000		Diamond (state gem), rice stalks, mallard flying above a lake	John Mercanti
2004	Michigan	January 26, 2004 (January 26, 1837)	459,600,000		State outline, outline of Great Lakes system Caption: "Great Lakes State"	Donna Weaver
	Florida	March 29, 2004 (March 3, 1845)	481,800,000		Spanish galleon, Cabbage palmettos (state tree), Space Shuttle Caption: "Gateway to Discovery"	T. James Ferrell
	Texas	June 1, 2004 (December 29, 1845)	541,800,000		State outline, star, lariat Caption: "The Lone Star State"	Norman E. Nemeth
	Iowa	August 30, 2004 (December 28, 1846)	465,200,000		Schoolhouse, teacher and students planting a tree, Captions: "Foundation in Education", "Grant Wood"	John Mercanti
	Wisconsin	October 25, 2004 (May 29, 1848)	453,200,000		Head of a cow, round of cheese and ear of corn (state grain). Banner with text: "Forward"	Alfred Maletsky
2005	California	January 31, 2005 (September 9, 1850)	520,400,000		John Muir, California Condor, Half Dome Captions: "John Muir," "Yosemite Valley"	Don Everhart
	Minnesota	April 4, 2005 (May 11, 1858)	488,000,000		Common loon (state bird), Fishing, state map Caption: "Land of 10,000 Lakes"	Charles Vickers
	Oregon	June 6, 2005 (February 14, 1859)	720,200,000		Crater Lake National Park Caption: "Crater Lake"	Donna Weaver
	Kansas	August 29, 2005 (January 29, 1861)	563,400,000		American Bison (state mammal), Sunflowers (state flower)	Norman Nemeth
	West Virginia	October 14, 2005 (June 20, 1863)	721,600,000		New River Gorge Bridge Caption: "New River Gorge"	John Mercanti
2006	Nevada	January 31, 2006 (October 31, 1864)	589,800,000		Mustangs, mountains, rising sun, Sagebrush (state flower) Banner with text: "The Silver State"	Don Everhart
	Nebraska	April 3, 2006 (March 1, 1867)	591,000,000		Chimney Rock, covered wagon Caption: "Chimney Rock"	Charles Vickers
	Colorado	June 14, 2006 (August 1, 1876)	569,000,000		Longs Peak Banner with text: "Colorful Colorado"	Norm Nemeth
	North Dakota	August 28, 2006 (November 2, 1889)	664,800,000		American Bison, badlands	Donna Weaver
	South Dakota	November 6, 2006 (November 2, 1889)	510,800,000		Mount Rushmore, Ring-necked Pheasant (state bird), wheat (state grass)	John Mercanti
2007	Montana	January 29, 2007 (November 8, 1889)	513,240,000		American Bison skull in the center with mountains and the Missouri River in the background. Caption: "Big Sky Country"	Don Everhart
	Washington	April 11, 2007 (November 11, 1889)	545,200,000		Salmon leaping in front of Mount Rainier Caption: "The Evergreen State"	Charles Vickers
	Idaho	June 5, 2007[14] (July 3, 1890)	581,400,000		Peregrine falcon, state outline Caption: "Esto Perpetua"	Don Everhart
	Wyoming	September 4, 2007 (July 10, 1890)	564,400,000		Bucking Horse and Rider Caption: "The Equality State"	Norman E. Nemeth
	Utah	November 5, 2007 (January 4, 1896)	508,200,000		Golden Spike and the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad Caption: "Crossroads of the West"	Joseph Menna
2008	Oklahoma	January 28, 2008 (November 16, 1907)	416,600,000		Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (state bird), with Indian Blankets (the state wildflower) in background	Phebe Hemphill
	New Mexico	April 7, 2008 (January 6, 1912)	488,600,000		State outline, Zia Sun Symbol from flag Caption: "Land of Enchantment"	Don Everhart
	Arizona	June 2, 2008 (February 14, 1912)	509,600,000		Grand Canyon, Saguaro closeup. Caption: "Grand Canyon State"	Joseph Menna
	Alaska	August 25, 2008 (January 3, 1959)	505,800,000		Grizzly bear with salmon (state fish) and North Star Caption: "The Great Land"	Charles Vickers
	Hawaii	November 3, 2008 (August 21, 1959)	517,600,000		Statue of Kamehameha I with state outline and motto Caption: Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono	Don Everhart

District of Columbia & U.S. Territories 2009 Release

Year	Territory	Release Date (Territory Date)	Mintage[12]	Design	Elements Depicted	Engraver
2009	District of Columbia	()	172,400,000		Duke Ellington seated at a grand piano. Caption: "Duke Ellington" and "Justice for all"	Don Everhart
	Puerto Rico	()	139,200,000		Features a historic sentry box and a hibiscus flower. Caption: "Isla del Encanto"	Joseph Menna
	Guam	()	87,600,000		Depicts the outline of the island, a flying proa, and a latte stone. Caption: "Guahan I Tanó ManChamorro"	Jim Licaretz
	American Samoa	()	82,200,000		Depicts the ava bowl, whisk and staff in the foreground with a coconut tree on the shore in the background. Caption: "Samoa Muamua le Atua"	Charles Vickers
	U.S. Virgin Islands	()	82,000,000		Features an outline of the three major islands, the yellow breast or banana quit, the yellow cedar or yellow elder, and a Tyre Palm Tree. Caption: "United in Pride and Hope"	Joseph Menna
	Northern Mariana Islands	()	72,800,000		Near the shore stands a large limestone latte, a canoe of the indigenous Carolinians, two white fairy tern birds, and a Carolinian mwar borders the bottom.	Phebe Hemphill

Additional notes on individual 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.

• Arizona: The banner reading "Grand Canyon State" in the design is intended to split the quarter into two sections and indicate the Grand Canyon and the saguaro cactus are in two different Arizona scenes, as the saguaro cactus is not found near the Grand Canyon.^[15]

• 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 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.

• District of Columbia: The Mint rejected some of the design narratives that the District government submitted because the Mint deemed the motto "Taxation Without Representation" to be controversial.^[16]

• Georgia: an apparent mistake in the outline of the state of Georgia on the quarter appears to have accidentally left out Dade County, which is in the extreme northwestern part of the state.

• 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. This is the first and only U.S. coin to feature royalty or a monarch of any kind.

• 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.^[17][18]

• Maryland: The Maryland Statehouse featured on the coin is the country's largest wooden dome built without nails.^[19] Some residents complained that the quarter did not feature the state's famous blue crab.

• Missouri: The design contest winner for the Missouri quarter, Paul Jackson, has claimed that the Mint engraver needlessly redesigned Jackson's original submission. 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.^[20][21]

• 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.

• New Hampshire: The Old Man of the Mountain, featured on the back of the New Hampshire quarter, collapsed in 2003.

• Oregon: Oregon's design features a scene of Crater Lake and Wizard Island. This design was chosen by the Oregon Commemorative Quarter Commission. The Quarter Commission was made up of 18 members, including Governor Ted Kulongoski, State Treasurer Randall Edwards, Columbia Sportswear Chairperson Gert Boyle, numismatist Monte Mensing, and Beaverton High School student Laura Davis, along with state legislators Charles Starr, Joan Dukes, Betsy Johnson, and Betsy Close, among others. The Quarter Commission chose the Crater Lake design from three other finalists: a jumping salmon, the Oregon Trail, and Mount Hood.

• 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^[who?] 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.^{[citation needed]}

• Wisconsin: A number of the Wisconsin quarters featured a small mint error: 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.^[22][23]

• Wyoming: Some Wyoming quarters were released in 2007 with indications of inadequate quality control. Many persons, upon first seeing the same cowboy outline design used on the state's automobile license plates, have mistakenly believed that the lack of detail is itself a flaw, the result of an incomplete striking. However, evidence of cracks in the die and subsequent hasty repairs have been observed in a few circulation specimens.^{[citation needed]}

Year map

The following map shows the years each state, federal district, or territory is released as a State Quarter.

The following table has the quarters grouped by year.

Color	Year	1st release	2nd release	3rd release	4th release	5th release	6th release
	1999	Delaware	Pennsylvania	New Jersey	Georgia	Connecticut	N/A
	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
	2009	District of Columbia	Puerto Rico	Guam	American Samoa	U.S. Virgin Islands	Northern Mariana Islands

Collectible value

In 1997, Congress passed the 50 States Commemorative Coin Program Act, which ordered the creation of the state quarters series to "honor the unique Federal Republic of 50 States that comprise the United States; and to promote the diffusion of knowledge among the youth of the United States about the individual states, their history and geography, and the rich diversity of the national heritage...", and to encourage "young people and their families to collect memorable tokens of all of the States for the face value of the coins."^[24]

Coin with erroneous "In God We Rust" motto

While mintage totals of the various designs vary widely—Virginia quarters are almost twenty times more abundant than Northern Marianas quarters—none of the regular circulating issues are rare enough to become a valuable investment.

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.^[25] A set of all three quarters from the Philadelphia mint sold on eBay in February 2005 for $300, and have since seen significant increases, such as $1500 for individual coins^{[citation needed]}.

Another die cast error ran with the first Delaware quarters. Being the first model of state quarter made, the mint gave it a disproportionate weight causing machine benders to not accept it. The quarter die was quickly fixed.

A major error occurred in 2000 when the reverse die of a Sacagawea Dollar was combined with the obverse die of a State Quarter on dollar-coin planchets to form what is known as a "mule". Only eleven of these specimens, produced on dollar planchets, escaped from the mint.^[26][27][28]

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.^[29] Relatively more common are Kansas quarters sporting the motto "IN GOD WE RUST".^[30] 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, of this or any other year, is worth only a fraction as much. The silver proof sets of later years, while having some intrinsic and collector worth, are also priced far lower.

In general, the program increased interest in quarter and general coin collecting^[31]. Large numbers of ads, quarter products and quarter information were available during the years the program ran. Home Shopping Network, Franklin Mint, and Littleton Coin Company were among the most prominent in ad space.

Seigniorage

Main article: Seigniorage

Since the 50 State Quarters program was expected to increase public demand for quarters which would be collected and taken out of circulation, the Mint used economic models to estimate the additional seigniorage the program would produce. These estimates established a range of $2.6 billion to $5.1 billion. (At the end of the program, the Mint estimated the actual increase in seigniorage to be $3 billion.) The Mint also estimated the program would earn $110 million in additional numismatic profits. (The final, post-program estimate was $136.2 million.) The Mint used these estimates to support the proposed program, and the legislation enacting the 50 States Quarters program cited these estimates.^[5]

Satire

• On May 4, 2005, The Onion ran a satirical news story titled "U.S. Mint Gears Up To Issue Commemorative County Pennies".^[32]

• The Late Night with Conan O'Brien television show has aired several segments about fictional satirical designs for new state quarters.^{[33][34][35][36][37][38]}

• Sculptor Daniel Carr, whose designs were used for the New York and Rhode Island state quarters and whose concept was adapted for the Maine state quarter, has created a series of parody quarters making light of the state quarter concept.^[39]

See also

• District of Columbia and United States Territories Quarter Program
• America the Beautiful quarters
• Westward Journey Nickel Series
• Presidential $1 Coin Program

References

1. ^ Noles, Jim. A Pocketful of History: Four Hundred Years of America -- One State Quarter at a Time (Boston: Da Capo Press, 2009).
2. ^ ^{a b} Muoio, Anna. (1999-11-30) "Mint Condition", Fast Company. Retrieved 2011-01-16.
3. ^ David L. Ganz, "The Official Guidebook to America's State Quarters", Random House, 2000.
4. ^ Healey, Matthew (2007-11-28). "State Quarters Near End of Popular Run". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/28/us/28coins.html?em&ex=1196398800&en=5053b00525f22372&ei=5087%0A. Retrieved 2007-11-28. 
5. ^ ^{a b c d e f} 50 State Quarters Report: 10 Years of Honoring Our Nation’s History and Heritage, U.S. Mint, Financial Department [1]
6. ^ Hearing on the U.S. Mint's Commemorative Coin Program before the Subcomm. On Domestic & International Monetary Policy of the House Committee on Banking & Financial Services, 104th. Cong., 1st sess. (Serial 104-25)(July 12, 1995)
7. ^ Hildebrand, Carol. (1999-04-24) "The New Realm of the Coin", CIO magazine. Retrieved 2011-01-16
8. ^ 50-State Quarters: Credit Where Credit Is Due, COINage magazine, December 2005 [2]
9. ^ Public Law 104–329, 104th Congress
10. ^ "The United States Mint 50 State Quarters Program - Frequently Asked Questions". United States Mint. http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/50sq_program/index.cfm?action=faq_50sq#anchor246828. Retrieved 2007-11-29. 
11. ^ http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/50sq_program/index.cfm?flash=yes&action=Schedule State Quarter Release Schedule
12. ^ ^{a b} Mintage figures: United States Mint
13. ^ http://www.nps.gov/history/maritime/nhl/victory.htm
14. ^ Idaho Quarter
15. ^ "Arizona State Quarter". Governor of Arizona (official site). http://www.azgovernor.gov/azquarter/QPoll.asp. Retrieved 2008-05-16. 
16. ^ DCist: BREAKING: U.S. Mint Rejects D.C. Quarter Design
17. ^ "Quarter design will not be put up for a vote". Quad City Times. 2002-07-20. http://www.qctimes.net/articles/2002/07/20/afternoon_edition/export38782.txt. Retrieved 2007-02-03. 
18. ^ "Grant Wood dominates field". Quad City Times. 2002-08-23. http://www.qctimes.net/articles/2002/08/23/morning_edition/export41037.txt. Retrieved 2007-02-03. 
19. ^ http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/50sq_program/states/index.cfm?state=md
20. ^ "Quartergate" (PDF). http://www.pauljackson.com/Quartergate.pdf. Retrieved 2007-02-03. 
21. ^ "50-State Quarters: Credit Where Credit Is Due". Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society. http://www.scvhistory.com/scvhistory/signal/coins/worden-coinage1205a.htm. Retrieved 2007-02-03. 
22. ^ Hagenbaugh, Barbara (2005-02-10). "Coin collectors flip, rumors fly after quarters sprout extra leaf". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/money/2005-02-10-quarter-usat_x.htm. Retrieved 2007-02-03. 
23. ^ Hagenbaugh, Barbara (2006-01-20). "State quarter's extra leaf grew out of lunch break". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/money/2006-01-20-quarter-goof-usat_x.htm. Retrieved 2007-02-03. 
24. ^ "Public Law 105-124: 50 States Commemorative Coin Program Act". United States Congress via United States Mint. 1997-12-01. http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/50sq_program/index.cfm?action=us1claw. 
25. ^ "Snopes.com: Cornstalked". http://www.snopes.com/business/money/quarter.asp. Retrieved 2007-02-02. 
26. ^ WASHINGTON QUARTER/ SACAJAWEA DOLLAR MULE
27. ^ Gikes, Paul. "11th quarter dollar/dollar mule surfaces: Chicago dealer acquires NGC-certified coin". Coin World (11 August 2011). Coin World. http://www.coinworld.com/articles/11th-quarter-dollar-dollar-mule-surfaces/. Retrieved 6 September 2011. 
28. ^ Fred Weinberg & Co.. "2000-P "Mule" Sacagawea Dollar Reverse w/ States Quarter Obverse". Fred Weinberg & Co.. http://www.fredweinberg.com/mules.php. Retrieved 6 September 2011. 
29. ^ "Coin World". Coin World. October 17, 2005. http://www.coinworldonline.com/. Retrieved 2007-02-02. "no" 
30. ^ Susan Headley. "In God We Rust - A State Quarter Error Caused by a Filled Die Strike Through". About.com. http://coins.about.com/od/uscoins/a/error_quarter_r.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-11. 
31. ^ [3]ResearchBooth.com
32. ^ "U.S. Mint Gears Up To Issue Commemorative County Pennies". The Onion (41–18). http://www.theonion.com/content/node/31003. Retrieved 2007-02-02. 
33. ^ Late Night with Conan O'Brien. NBC. Aired 2005-10-21.
34. ^ Late Night with Conan O'Brien. NBC. Aired 2006-01-18.
35. ^ Late Night with Conan O'Brien. NBC. Aired 2006-04-28.
36. ^ Late Night with Conan O'Brien. NBC. Aired 2006-06-21.
37. ^ Late Night with Conan O'Brien. NBC. Aired 2006-09-25.
38. ^ Late Night with Conan O'Brien. NBC. Aired 2007-02-05.
39. ^ Parody State Quarters, Etc

Bibliography

• Yeoman, R.S. (2010). A Guide Book of United States Coins (63rd ed.). Atlanta, GA: Whitman Publishing, LLC. ISBN 0-7948-2767-5. 

External links

• The 50 State Quarters Program of the United States Mint Official Website
• The District of Columbia and United States Territories Program of the United States Mint Official Website
• 50 States Commemorative Coin Program Act
• State Quarter Designs
• http://money.cnn.com/2003/05/15/pf/banking/quarter_curse/

Preceded by Eagle Series Quarters

50 State Quarters Program (1999-2008)

Succeeded by DC & US Territories Quarter Program