50 State Quarters Totally Explained

Everything about The 50 State Quarters totally explained

The 50 State Quarters program is the release of a series of commemorative coins by the United States Mint. Between 1999 and 2008, it's featuring each of the 50 individual U.S. states on unique designs for the reverse of the quarter and, by the passage of, 2009 will feature the District of Columbia and the nation's five territories.
The program was conceived as a means of creating a new generation of coin collectors, and in that it succeeded. The 50 State Quarters program became the most successful numismatic program in history, with roughly half of the U.S. population collecting the coins. The U.S. federal government so far has made a profit of $3.8 billion from collectors taking the coins out of circulation.

History

The program's origins are with the Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory Committee, which was appointed by Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen in December, 1993. By 1995, the committee had already endorsed a circulating commemorative coin when Congressman Michael Castle called for hearings. Mint director Philip Diehl picks up the commentary: "The idea of a circulating commemorative has been around the hobby for decades, but frankly, good ideas are a dime a dozen. Far more rare is the ability to move an idea to reality, especially in the rough and tumble environment of Washington, D.C. From my vantage point, the lion's share of the credit for making the 50 States program a reality goes to David Ganz, for his persistence as an advocate, and Congressman Michael Castle for championing the proposal through Congress. David gradually persuaded me of the merits of the proposal, and we at the Mint, in turn, convinced Treasury and the Hill that it was doable. There are other claimants, to be sure, but the hobby owes a debt of gratitude to Congressman Castle and Mr. Ganz. The program was first introduced by Rep. Michael Castle in 1997 as but only passed in the House. Sen. John Chafee introduced three days after HR 2414 passed the House. S. 1228 passed in the Senate on November 9, 1997 and the House on November 13, 1997. President Bill Clinton signed the 50 States Commemorative Coin Program Act into law on December 1, 1997. The first state quarter, which featured Delaware, was released into circulation in 1999.

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, or ten weeks), meaning that 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.
   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. Since, on the average, 16% fewer coins will be minted for each territory and DC than for each state (6 different coins in a year instead of five), the last six coins of the series are expected to be slightly more valuable as collectibles than the states quarters.
   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, 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. Relatively more common are Kansas quarters sporting the motto "IN GOD WE RUST".
   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.)

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. The addition of six new designs in 2009 to recognize the nation's capital and its five territories is expected to boost seigniorage revenue even further, especially since fewer coins will be minted of each design, because six different coins will be issued that year, instead of the usual five.

Designs

For a complete table of the fifty quarter designs, see 50 State Quarters designs.

District of Columbia

The District of Columbia submitted three different designs to the United States mint for its quarter: one with the District's flag, one depicting Benjamin Banneker, and one depicting Duke Ellington. The District suggested that each of the three designs include either the words "Taxation Without Representation" or "No Taxation Without Representation", The Mint rejected both messages, because of its prohibition against printing controversial inscriptions on coins. which is the District's motto.

The Late Night with Conan O'Brien television show has aired several segments about fictional satirical designs for new state quarters.

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. Further Information

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