US Mint Issues Last State Quarter
What Follows 2008 Release of Final US State Commemorative Coin?
The US Mint's "State Quarter" program was to end in 2008, but legislation has extended it through 2009. With no US states left, what will new 25-cent pieces honor?
2008 marks the final year of the United States Mint’s 50 State Quarter program. The program began in 1999 with the issue of the Delaware quarter featuring Caesar Rodney, who cast the deciding vote for American independence. New quarters were released at the rate of five per year, in the order the states were admitted into the union.
The program has been very popular with the American public and has been very profitable the the United States Mint. According to a Congressional Budget Office Budget Report prepared for the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005, the Mint estimated that in the first six years, the State Quarter Program generated about $4.6 billion in profit.
2008 State Quarter Designs
The obverse of the quarter has remained unchanged since Washington’s portrait was updated for the State Quarter Program. In 1999, Washingington's portrait was updated so that the inscriptions "United States of America" and "Quarter Dollar" could be moved from the reverse to the obverse so there would be more room for the state designs. At the same time, the year of minting was moved to the reverse. The final states and the designs featured are (in the order of release:)
- Oklahoma: state bird (Scissortail Flycatcher), state flower (Indian Blanket)
- New Mexico: Zia sun symbol, outline of the state
- Arizona: Saguaro Cactus, Grand Canyon
- Alaska: Grizzly Bear fishing for salmon
- Hawaii: King Kamehameha I, the eight major islands
New Quarter Program for 2009
President Bush signed The District of Columbia and United States Territories Quarter Program bill into law in December 2007. A new law was needed, since the original law provided for a 50 coin series to commemorate the individual states. While the quarter will continue using the Washington obverse as seen on the state quarters, the designs for the reverse have not yet been chosen. The six quarters to be issued in 2009 will commemorate:
- District of Columbia (Washington D.C.)
- The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
- Guam
- American Samoa
- The United States Virgin Islands
- The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
What Might 2010 Bring?
Not much has been said about if the eagle will be back on the reverse of the Washington quarter in 2010. If it does, it is unknown if the design will be updated to bring it in line with the updated Washington obverse. It is expected that the updated portrait of Washington will remain past 2009, but that is also up in the air. Once the designs for the 2009 quarters are finalized, maybe we will hear what the future holds. Then again, we may not find out until the quarter is in our hands.
Until next time, In Bocca Al Lupo!
