In 1997, Congress passed Public Law 105-124, the "50 States Commemorative Coin Program Act", in order to honor the 50 States and provide a means for individuals to learn about the states' history and geography. In addition to honoring the nation's heritage, the 50 States Coin program Act also was intended to spur a renewed interest in coin collecting, and is the first change to the design of the quarter since the Bicentennial quarters of 1975-1976.
The first state quarters were released in 1999, and 5 new designs appeared per year for 10 years. Each state's quarter was released according to the order in which the state joined the Union. The program was so successful, that it has been extended another year, to include quarters for the District of Columbia and all the Territories of the United States. The circulating coins are produced at the U.S. Mints in both Denver and Philadelphia, with proof version produced by the Mint in San Fransisco.
The obverse of the state quarters still bears an image of George Washington, and the traditional inscriptions "In God We Trust", "Liberty", and "United States of America". Public Law 105-176 allows for the inscriptions traditionally required to be on the reverse of the coin - the value of the coin, the country name, and "E Pluribus Unum"- to be moved to the front to allow for greater design freedom for the state quarters. The state quarters display "United States of America" and "Quarter Dollar" on the obverse, maintaining "E Pluribus Unum" on the reverse.
The state quarter designs were submitted to the Mint via a process determined by the Governor of each state. The U.S. Mint reviewed each design for coinability before each Governor made a final recommendation. The Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee and the Commission of Fine Arts provided comments, with the Secretary of the Treasury approving all final designs. Suitable subject matter for the reverse designs could include such themes as state flowers and trees, landmarks, historical buildings, state outlines or icons, or symbols of industry or natural resources. Busts or head-and-shoulder portraits of any person were prohibited, as were portraits of any living person.
The program has been self-supported by the U.S. Mint at no cost to taxpayers. In fact, the program has been quite profitable due to the phenomenon of seinorage, the margin between how much a coin costs to produce and its worth as currency. Each quarter cost 5¢ to manufacture, so the margin is 20¢ per quarter. Since large numbers of people are taking the coins out of circulation to collect them, the Treasure will never have to redeem the worn-out coins for new ones, effectively making a handsome profit. The U.S. Treasury estimates that it has earned about $4.6 billion in seigniorage revenue from the quarters so far (H.R. 902).
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Conneticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming