|
Release date of South Dakota State Quarter:
November 6th,
2006.
The fifth and final commemorative quarter-dollar coin released in 2006 honors
South Dakota, the "Mount Rushmore State," and is the 40th coin in the United
States Mint's 50 State Quarters® Program. Admitted into the Union on November 2,
1889, South Dakota became the Nation's 40th state. The release of this quarter
signals the end of the eighth year of the 50 State Quarters Program.
The South Dakota quarter features an image of the State bird, a Chinese
ring-necked pheasant, in flight above a depiction of the Mount Rushmore National
Monument, featuring the faces of four American Presidents: George Washington,
Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. The design is bordered
by heads of wheat. The coin's design also bears the inscriptions "South Dakota"
and "1889."
|
 |
|
"Mount Rushmore and Pheasant," features the
State bird, the Chinese ring-necked pheasant in flight above the Mount Rushmore
National Memorial.
United States Mint image |
Sculptor Gutzon Borglum began drilling into Mount Rushmore, the 5,725-foot
peak rising above Harney National Forest, in 1927. Creation of the "Shrine of
Democracy" took 14 years and cost approximately $1 million, though it is now
deemed priceless.
The South Dakota Quarter Advisory Committee began accepting ideas from the
citizens of South Dakota via telephone, letters and e-mail. A group of five
possible narratives was agreed upon and forwarded to the United States Mint for
consideration. The final artistic renderings, developed by the
sculptor-engravers of the United States Mint and artists in the United States
Mint's Artistic Infusion Program, were returned to South Dakota, and a statewide
vote was conducted. On April 27, 2005, South Dakota Governor M. Michael Rounds
announced his recommendation of the "Mount Rushmore and Pheasant" design,
echoing the choice of those who participated in the statewide vote.
The Department of the Treasury approved the design on May 28, 2005. The other
design concepts considered during the final selection process were "Mount
Rushmore National Monument," featuring a three-quarter view of the famous
mountain carving; "American Bison," depicting the classic animal symbol of the
west; "Chinese Ring-necked Pheasant," featuring an image of the state bird in
flight; and "Mount Rushmore and Bison," which placed an American bison in the
foreground and Mount Rushmore in the background.
Purchase a
South Dakota State Quarter
|
