State Quarters
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 (anticipated completion date), it features each of the United States' 50 individual U.S. states on unique designs for the reverse of the quarter
During the program, a new statehood quarter is released by the United States Mint roughly every ten weeks; 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 over 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 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. territories of Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands and American Samoa. As of June 2004, this legislation had not yet reached a floor vote.
| State | Release Date (Statehood Date) |
Mintage Numbers | 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 Captions: "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 |  |
Early aircraft, 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 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 Light; 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 Caption: "The Lone Star State" |
| Iowa | August 30, 2004 (December 28, 1846) |  |
Schoolhouse, teacher and students planting a tree, Captions: "Foundation in Education", "Grant Wood" |
|
| Wisconsin | October 25, 2004 (May 29, 1848) |  |
Head of a cow, round of cheese and ear of corn. Caption: "Forward" |
|
| California | 2005 (September 9, 1850) |  |
John Muir, California Condor and Half Dome | |
| Minnesota | 2005 (May 11, 1858) |  |
Common loon, Fishing, state map Caption: "Land of 10,000 Lakes" |
|
| Oregon | 2005 (February 14, 1859) |  |
Crater Lake National Park Caption: "Crater Lake" |
|
| Kansas | 2005 (January 29, 1861) | American Bison, Sunflowers | ||
| West Virginia | 2005 (June 20, 1863) | New River Gorge Bridge | ||
| Nevada | 2006 (October 31, 1864) | |||
| Nebraska | 2006 (March 1, 1867) | |||
| Colorado | 2006 (August 1, 1876) | |||
| North Dakota | 2006 (November 2, 1889) | |||
| South Dakota | 2006 (November 2, 1889) | |||
| 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) |
Quarter-dollar coin images from the United States Mint.
External link
- The 50 State Quarters Program of the United States Mint Official Website (http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/50sq_program/index.cfm?flash=yes&action=schedule)