George Washington Quarter Dollar Commerative Series - Part I
50 States Series: 1999-2008
Legislation was passed by Congress in 1998 which would change the appearance of the quarter dollar coin for the next 10 years, 1999 through 2008. Throughout those 10 years, the reverse design would change approximately every 10 weeks (5 different designs per year), and each new design will honor a different state of the union. The order of issuing of the coins will be in the same order as their admittance into the union of the United States of America.
Obverse Design Changes
1932 - 1998
While the reverse designs garner the most attention, the obverse has changed as well. The bust of Washington is still be the predominant feature, but the following changes were made to the obverse side of the coin starting in 1999.
The date was moved to the reverse.
The existing inscriptions of "Liberty" and "In God We Trust" were relocated.
Added to the obverse (from their former locations on the reverse) were "United States of America" and "Quarter Dollar." The reason to move these inscriptions was to free up as much space as possible on the reverse for the designs which would be developed by the individual states.
1999 - ongoing
Reverse Design Changes
The date was moved from the obverse side to the reverse side, and the inscription "E Pluribus Unum" remains on the reverse. Both of those inscriptions are positioned at the bottom of that side. The name of the state being honored and the year it was admitted into the union must be part of the reverse design, and they will be positioned at the top of that side. The rest of the design of the reverse side of the coin will be uniquely different for each state.
Designer (Obverse): Original design by John Flanagan, modified for the 50 States Commemorative Coin Program, starting 1999.
Designer (Reverse): different for each coin
Diameter: .95 inch (24.3 mm); reeded edge
Composition (Circulation): Cupro/Nickel (C/N) Clad
---The outer layer material on which the obverse and reverse images are struck is an alloy of .750 copper and .250 nickel
---The inner layer, or 'core', is pure copper
---The weight is 5.67 grams
Mints: Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco
Mint marks: P, D, or S on obverse, to the right of the hair ribbon
So, without further adoo, here are the 50 different reverse designs for the 50 states of the United States of America.
1 9 9 9
#1 Delaware 7 Dec 1787
#2 Pennsylvania 12 Dec 1787
#3 New Jersey 18 Dec 1787
#4 Georgia 2 Jan 1788
#5 Connecticut 9 Jan 1788
2 0 0 0
#6 Massachusetts 6 Feb 1788
#7 Maryland 28 Apr 1788
#8 South Carolina 23 May 1788
#9 New Hampshire 21 Jun 1788
#10 Virginia 25 Jun 1788
See Note
Note:
Of particular interest to me was the New Hampshire Covered Bridge design. This was (in my opinion) a beautiful design for a coin. The design was pleasing and well proportioned, the field of the coin was full without being "busy", and the subject was truly characteristic of the state. This coin was one of which the citizens of New Hampshire could truly be proud, and I think was much better than the chosen design of "The Old Man of the Mountain."
2 0 0 1
#11 New York 26 Jul 1788
#12 North Carolina 21 Nov 1789
#13 Rhode Island 29 May 1790
#14 Vermont 4 Mar 1791
#15 Kentucky 1 Jun 1792
2 0 0 2
#16 Tennessee 1 Jun 1796
#17 Ohio 19 Feb 1803
#18 Louisiana 30 Apr 1812
#19 Indiana 11 Dec 1816
#20 Mississippi 10 Dec 1817
2 0 0 3
#21 Illinois 3 Dec 1818
#22 Alabama 14 Feb 1819
#23 Maine 15 Mar 1820
#24 Missouri 10 Aug 1821
#25 Arkansas 15 Jun 1836
2 0 0 4
#26 Michigan 26 Jan 1837
#27 Florida 3 Mar 1845
#28 Texas 29 Dec 1845
#29 Iowa 28 Dec 1846
#30 Wisconsin 29 May 1848
2 0 0 5
#31 California 9 September 1850
#32 Minnesota 11 May 1858
#33 Oregon 14 February 1859
#34 Kansas 29 January 1861
#35 West Virginia 20 June 1863
2 0 0 6
#36 Nevada 31 October 1864
#37 Nebraska 1 March 1867
#38 Colorado 1 August 1876
#39 North Dakota 2 November 1889
#40 South Dakota 2 November 1889
2 0 0 7
#41 Montana November 8, 1889
#42 Washington November 11, 1889
#43 Idaho July 3, 1890
#44 Wyoming July 10, 1890
#45 Utah January 4, 1896
2 0 0 8
#46 Oklahoma November 16, 1907
#47 New Mexico January 6, 1912
#48 Arizona February 14, 1912
#49 Alaska January 3, 1959
#50 Hawaii August 21, 1959
George Washington Quarter Dollar Commerative Series - Part II
District of Columbia and U.S. Territories Series: 2009
Legislation was passed by Congress to continue the commemorative coinage of the Washington Quarter Dollar after the 50 States Commemorative program was scheduled to end in 2008. This new legislation was a one-year initiative to honor the District of Columbia and the five U.S. Territories.
The District of Columbia
The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
Guam
American Samoa
The United States Virgin Islands
The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
The obverse ('heads') side of the coin continued to use the revised design started in 1999, and the reverse ('tails') side of the coin has a different design for each territory being honored. Since there would be six coins, the frequency of issue was expected to be approximately every 8 weeks.
2 0 0 9
#1 The District of Columbia
#2 The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
#3 Guam
#4 American Samoa
#5 The United States Virgin Islands
#6 The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
