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What a resounding success! The State Quarters
1999-2008 program has
welcomed huge numbers of new people to the coin collecting hobby.
According to the U.S. Mint, State
Quarters are currently collected by about 130 million people - which
translates to about one person in every home in America. No other
collectible commodity in history has ever achieved such soaring
popularity.
The 50 State Quarters program was a 10-year initiative launched in
January 1999, that ran through the end of 2008. The program honors each
state with a specialized design on the reverse of its State Quarter.
The obverse of all U.S. State Quarters displays a refined image of
George Washington. A newly designed quarter reverse was released five
times a year throughout the 10-year program. States were honored in the
order in which they were admitted to the Union, beginning with Delaware,
our first state.
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United States Mint image.
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Legislation in late 2007 was passed to similarly
honor in 2009 the District
of Columbia
and the five U.S. territories: the Commonwealth
of Puerto Rico ,
Guam,
American
Samoa,
the United
States Virgin Islands,
and the Commonwealth
of the Northern Mariana Islands .
The 2009 quarters continued to feature the image of President
George Washington on the obverse. The reverse commemorated the
history, geography or traditions of the District of Columbia and the
territories in the same manner of the State Quarters.
In 2010, a new quarter program launched. The Mint is issuing
coins featuring national parks and other national sites. Approximately
every 10 weeks, a new design emblematic of a national site is to be
depicted on the reverse of the quarter. The sites chosen for depiction
will come from each of 50 states, plus the District of Columbia and
five U.S. territories. In all, 56 reverses are to be featured. As with
the State Quarters, the familiar image of George Washington remains on
the front. A couple of the best places we've found to learn more about
these quarters is at a special
site created by the Mint and the America
the Beautiful Quarters site.
Taxpayers will be delighted to know that the 50 State Quarters program
is much more than just self-supporting. Thanks to the sale of State
Quarter Proof Sets, and something known as seigniorage
[defined as the profit taken by the government from the minting of
coins, usually the difference between the cost of coin production
(metal, labor, etc.) and the face value of the coin]. Perhaps as much
as $3
billion in seigniorage profits flowed into the Treasury annually
that otherwise would not have occurred because of the State Quarters.
State Quarters remained popular with collectors right up to the very
end.
This was evident as the US economy slowed in 2008. Mint production of
the cent, nickel, and dime fell 25.6 percent, 49.8 percent, and 52.4
percent respectively, from FY 2007. Continued demand for new State
Quarters helped augment shipments of quarter-dollar coins, which
fell by only 7.4 percent over the same time period.
One stated goal of the State Quarters program was to bring history to
the American people. So far, we've done fairly well. Many of the State
Quarter designs whisk us back in time to some memorable event, such as
the 1999 New
Jersey quarter showing George Washington and his men crossing the
icy Delaware River on December 26, 1776. Other State Quarters teach
culture, geography and the unique heritage of the state. For example,
the 2002 Tennessee
quarter boasts a guitar, reflecting the state's musical legacy. Without
a doubt, the Roll Call of the 50 State Quarters has brought to life the
history and beauty of our country.
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