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]
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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.
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]
| 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 |
| 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 |
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]
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.
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.
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]
| Preceded by Eagle Series Quarters |
50 State Quarters Program (1999-2008) |
Succeeded by DC & US Territories Quarter Program |
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