50 States Commemorative Quarter Program (Starting 1999)

George Washington Quarter Dollar

Legislation was passed by Congress in 1998 which will change the appearance of the quarter dollar coin every year for at least the next 10 years, 1999 through 2008. Throughout those 10 years, the reverse design will change approximately every 10 weeks (5 different designs per year), and each new design will honor a different state of the union. The order of issuing of the coins will be in the same order as their admittance into the union of the United States of America.

Obverse Design Changes

While the reverse designs garner the most attention, the obverse has changed as well. The bust of Washington is still be the predominant feature, but the following changes were made to the obverse side of the coin starting in 1999.
The obverse side of the old and new quarter dollar are illustrated here to show the differences.

1932-1998 1999-2008

Reverse Design Changes

The date was moved from the obverse side to the reverse side, and the inscription "E Pluribus Unum" remains on the reverse. Both of those inscriptions are positioned at the bottom of that side. The name of the state being honored and the year it was admitted into the union must be part of the reverse design, and they will be positioned at the top of that side. The rest of the design of the reverse side of the coin will be uniquely different for each state.

Designer (Obverse): Original design by John Flanagan, modified for the 50 States Commemorative Coin Program, starting 1999.
Designer (Reverse): different for each coin
Diameter: .95 inch (24.3 mm); reeded edge
Composition (Circulation): Cupro/Nickel (C/N) Clad
---The outer layer material on which the obverse and reverse images are struck is an alloy of .750 copper and .250 nickel
---The inner layer, or 'core', is pure copper
---The weight is 5.67 grams
Mints: Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco
Mint marks: P, D, or S on obverse, to the right of the hair ribbon

1 9 9 9
#1
Delaware
7 Dec 1787 		#2
Pennsylvania
12 Dec 1787 		#3
New Jersey
18 Dec 1787 		#4
Georgia
2 Jan 1788 		#5
Connecticut
9 Jan 1788

2 0 0 0
#6
Massachusetts
6 Feb 1788 		#7
Maryland
28 Apr 1788 		#8
South Carolina
23 May 1788 		#9
New Hampshire
21 Jun 1788 		#10
Virginia
25 Jun 1788

See Note

Note:
Of particular interest to me was the New Hampshire Covered Bridge design. This was (in my opinion) a beautiful design for a coin. The design was pleasing and well proportioned, the field of the coin was full without being "busy", and the subject was truly characteristic of the state. This coin was one of which the citizens of New Hampshire could truly be proud, and I think was much better than the chosen design of "The Old Man of the Mountain."

2 0 0 1
#11
New York
26 Jul 1788 		#12
North Carolina
21 Nov 1789 		#13
Rhode Island
29 May 1790 		#14
Vermont
4 Mar 1791 		#15
Kentucky
1 Jun 1792

2 0 0 2
#16
Tennessee
1 Jun 1796 		#17
Ohio
19 Feb 1803 		#18
Louisiana
30 Apr 1812 		#19
Indiana
11 Dec 1816 		#20
Mississippi
10 Dec 1817

2 0 0 3
#21
Illinois
3 Dec 1818 		#22
Alabama
14 Feb 1819 		#23
Maine
15 Mar 1820 		#24
Missouri
10 Aug 1821 		#25
Arkansas
15 Jun 1836

2 0 0 4
#26
Michigan
26 Jan 1837 		#27
Florida
3 Mar 1845 		#28
Texas
29 Dec 1845 		#29
Iowa
28 Dec 1846 		#30
Wisconsin
29 May 1848

2 0 0 5
#31
California
9 September 1850 		#32
Minnesota
11 May 1858 		#33
Oregon
14 February 1859 		#34
Kansas
29 January 1861 		#35
West Virginia
20 June 20 1863

2 0 0 6
#36
Nevada
31 October 1864 		#37
Nebraska
1 March 1867 		#38
Colorado
1 August 1876 		#39
North Dakota
2 November 1889 		#40
South Dakota
2 November 1889


2007 (MT, WA, ID, WY, UT)

2008 (OK, NM, AZ, AK, HA)

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This page developed by Herb Klug — Updated February 18, 2006
Feel free to write to me! herbk98@cfl.rr.com