State Quarters 1999-2008 and Beyond


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.





Washington Quarter Obverse view

United States Mint image.

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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