The 50 State Quarters program recognizes the distinct character of the 50 individual states that together, comprise the United States of America. Each state is honored by a design specific to the state appearing on the reverse side of Washington quarters. The State Quarters were minted from 1999 through 2008. Five new designs were released into circulation every year during this 10-year period.

The program was extended into 2009 to similarly honor 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.

In 2010, a new quarter program launches.  The Mint will issue 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.

Momentum for a circulating commemorative quarter program started to roll during 1995 Congressional hearings on commemorative coin abuses. In 1996, Public Law 104-329 was passed which authorized a feasibility study on the State Quarters concept. The results of the study indicated the program would be successful, if implemented under certain conditions. Public Law 105-124, passed by Congress and signed by President Clinton on December 1, 1997, made the 50 State Quarters program a reality.

The objectives of the program are indicated in the text of Public Law 105-324: "Congress finds that it is appropriate and timely to honor the unique Federal Republic of 50 States that comprise the United States; and to promote the diffusion of knowledge among the youth of the United States about the individual states, their history and geography, and the rich diversity of the national heritage…" and to encourage "young people and their families to collect memorable tokens of all of the States for the face value of the coins."

Another important, but less proclaimed objective, was that the State Quarters program, unlike so many other federal initiatives, stood to return to the government billions of dollars through numismatic sales and a phenomenon known as seigniorage. See  below.

Mint Director Phil Diehl, wrote "from my vantage point, the lion's share of the credit for making the 50 States program a reality goes to David Ganz, for his persistence as an advocate, and Congressman Michael Castle for championing the proposal through Congress." Diehl later went on to say "There are other claimants, to be sure, but the hobby owes a debt of gratitude to Congressman Castle and Mr. Ganz."

Surprise, but this federal program was completely self-supporting. What's more, the State Quarters earned back the taxpayers nearly $6 billion during its 10 year production run. This total was derived from the net gain the government takes in by transferring coins to the Federal Reserve, a type of profit called seigniorage. Here is how seigniorage works: Let's say it costs around 4.5 cents to produce a quarter at the Mint (material, labor, etc.), which it did in the late 1990's (in 2008, the production cost was about 11 cents). The quarter enters circulation by "selling" it to a Federal Reserve Bank for 25 cents, whereupon the Fed distributes it to the population, returning to the government a profit of 20.5 cents per quarter.

Demand for coinage increased above and beyond that required to fulfill the needs of everyday commerce, as billions of State Quarters were set aside by the public as souvenirs over the life of the program. The additional demand caused by State Quarter collectors resulted in additional seigniorage profits for the government.

There are no official estimates to suggest how much of the $6 billion is attributable to the collector component of State Quarter demand. Given the fact that the Mint reports that about 130 million people collect State Quarters in some fashion, it is somewhat conservative to guess that $2.5 to $3 billion extra in seigniorage was generated by collector demand.

The Treasury also earns income through the sale of mint and proof sets to coin collectors. Proof sets featuring State Quarters exclusively were marketed to the public and brought in millions of dollars. The Mint describes these as "numismatic sales" in their annual reports, but these gains were minimal compared to seigniorage profits.

The profits from the United States Mint are directed to the Treasury general fund, to help finance U.S. government operations, reduce the need for new or higher taxes, and to slightly alleviate the national debt.

The business strike State Quarters intended for general circulation were produced at the minting facilities in Philadelphia and Denver. Proof specimens were minted in San Francisco.

You can observe the release schedule to find out when your State Quarter was released.

The release schedule was set by the order in which the states joined the Union. States were honored with a customized design appearing on the reverse of the Washington quarter.

Yes. Additional legislation was passed in 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 again has President George Washington on the obverse. The reverse commemorates the history, geography or traditions of the District of Columbia and each territory, in a manner of the State Quarters.

In 2010, a new quarter program launches.  The Mint will issue 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.

Yes, see the answer immediately above.

Maybe never. When the State Quarter legislation was passed in 1997, the Eagle reverse, first introduced in 1932, was scheduled to return to the "Tails" side of the Washington quarter in 2009, the year following the completion of the State Quarter program. However, the program was extended into 2009 to honor the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories. Beginning in 2010, another program, modeled after the State Quarters, goes into effect, which features national parks and other sites. This program will run at least 10 years, meaning it will not be until at least 2020 before we see the return of the Eagle reverse.

State Quarter Designs were selected and approved by the process established by Secretary of the Treasury, in accordance with Public Law 105-124. Procedures for developing State Quarter designs were published by Secretary on January 9, 1998, and revised on March 11, 2003. The design process consisted of nine stages, summarized below:

Stage 1: The United States Mint will initiate the formal state design process by contacting the state governor approximately 24 months prior to the beginning of the year in which the state will be honored.

Stage 2: The state will conduct a concept selection process as determined by the state. The state will provide to the United States Mint at least three, but no more than five, different concepts or themes emblematic of the state.

Stage 3: Based on the narratives, the United States Mint will produce original artwork of the concepts, focusing on aesthetic beauty, historical accuracy, appropriateness and coinability.

Stage 4:  The United States Mint will collaborate with state officials on the artwork. The United States Mint will refine the artwork before forwarding it to the advisory bodies.

Stage 5: The Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee and the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts will review the candidate designs and make recommendations.

Stage 6: The United States Mint will present the candidate designs to the Secretary of the Treasury for review and approval.

Stage 7: The United States Mint will return to the state all candidate designs approved by the Secretary of the Treasury.

Stage 8: From among the designs approved by the Secretary, the state will recommend the final design through a process determined by the state.

Stage 9: The United States Mint will present the state's recommended design to the Secretary for final approval.

Public Law 105-124 specified that "no portrait of a living person shall be included in any design," prohibited any "head and shoulder portrait or bust of any person, living or dead," and gave the Secretary of the Treasury final approval of each design, with the direction that he "shall not select any frivolous or inappropriate design."

Suitable subject matter for design concepts included state landmarks (natural and man-made), landscapes, historically significant buildings, symbols of state resources or industries, official state flora and fauna, state icons, and geographical outlines of states. State flags and seals were not considered suitable.

The Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory Committee (CCCAC) was established by Congress in 1992 to recommend to Congress the events, persons or places to be commemorated by the issuance of commemorative coins. The Committee is chaired by the Director of the United States Mint and is composed of representatives of the numismatic community and the general public. The CCCAC reviews state design candidates at Stage 5 of the selection process and can make recommendations.

The Commission of Fine Arts was established by Congress in 1910 as an independent agency. The commission advises the government on questions of art and architecture in Washington, D.C., and provides input to Congress and the President on any questions related to art. They also advise the United States Mint on coin and medal designs. The Fine Arts commission consists of seven members, who are appointed by the President for four-year terms. The Fine Arts commission reviews state design candidates at Stage 5 of the selection process.

Inscriptions traditionally found on the "Tails" side of the quarter were relocated to the "Heads" side to provide more space for greater creative flexibility in developing the state designs.

A long-standing statutory requirement for United States coins specifies that all coins shall have the inscriptions "In God We Trust", "Liberty," "United States of America," and "E Pluribus Unum," as well as a designation of the value of the coin and the year of minting or issuance. Three of the inscriptions ("United States of America", "E Pluribus Unum" and a designation of the value) are required to be placed on the reverse of each coin. These mandated inscriptions hindered artistic imagination in developing state designs because of the space they occupied on the reverse side of the coin. Public Law 105-176, enacted May 29, 1998, allowed for any inscription or inscriptions required to be on the reverse of the quarter to be repositioned on the 'Heads" side of the State Quarters.

The State Quarters entered circulation like all other coins. The Treasury Department distributed them to the Federal Reserve Banks, which in turn, distributed the coinage to financial institutions throughout the nation.

The Mint partners with the Federal Reserve to determine how many coins to produce, including State Quarters. In recent years, the Federal Reserve implemented a forecasting tool at each of its 37 locations. This tool enables the Federal Reserve to better align its coin orders from the Mint with true coin demand. Existing inventories can have a bearing on the quantity of coins minted to meet projected demands.

In a general sense, no. There are literally hundreds of millions of quarters minted for each state, so it's hard to imagine anything produced in such abundant numbers as being rare. Still, in the highest of conditions, say MS-67 or better for certain quarters, some collectors are willing to pay $100 or more to land a specimen. This is probably more of a testament to the popularity of State Quarters, more than a statement of rarity.  Time will tell.

On the other hand, some State Quarters containing errors garner much attention and high price tags. When compared to the overall universe of State Quarters, these error coins are rare, but are they valuable? The answer may be YES, at least for the 2004 Wisconsin State Quarter error. Even though the error burst onto the national scene in 2004, the coin remains very popular (and expensive) with collectors today. This type of staying power suggests the 2004 Wisconsin error is not merely a flash in the pan, but something with real scarcity in relation to demand, and consequently, true value.

Yes, of course. State Quarters are legal tender. Merchants, vending machines, and slot machines are all happy to accept your State Quarters. Believe it or not, in the early days of State Quarters, this was in fact a frequently asked question.

According to the 2004 Mint Director's report, more than 130 million Americans were collecting State Quarters. This equated to more than one person in every U.S. household. Some of the State Quarter collectors crossed over into other areas of coin collecting. Over the last several years, we've witnessed a much bigger demand for traditional numismatic material.

Who knows for sure, but at least we have some anecdotal evidence indicating this is happening. For instance, at State Quarter unveiling ceremonies, many thousands of adults and children participate. In all ceremonies, an educational component wass central to the event.

Moreover, the popularity of H.I.P. Pocket Change™, the Mint's Internet educational outreach, is growing by leaps and bounds. This interactive website promotes the use of coins as teaching tools and helps teachers and parents bring the history of the United States and our coinage into classrooms and living rooms. Curriculums for State Quarters are some of the most frequently requested downloads. Because the public asked for it, online educational activities are now available for all grades K-12.

Every State Quarter transfers some information of value about a state to any onlooker willing to take a few seconds to consider the subject matter. Like seeds cast into the wind, billions of State Quarters are circulating. Surely some of these "knowledge seeds" are landing on fertile soil and taking root.

Given the heavy emphasis on education, it is probably a safe bet that the State Quarters program is satisfying the congressional mandate to promote "the diffusion of knowledge about the individual states, their history and geography, and the rich diversity of the national heritage " among the youth of America.