State Quarters

The 50 State Quarters program is the release of a series of commemorative coins by the United States Mint. Between 1999 and 2008 (anticipated completion date), it features each of the United States' 50 individual U.S. states on unique designs for the reverse of the quarter.

The state quarter program

During the program, a new statehood quarter is released by the United States Mint every "quintile," or 1/5th of a year (73 days); five designs are released each year. Each quarter's reverse celebrates one of the 50 states with a design honoring its unique history, traditions and symbols, usually designed by a resident of that state and chosen by the state government.

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The quarters are released in the same order that the states joined the Union. The obverse of each quarter is the same, but is a redesign over the previous design of the quarter.

Related Topics:
States joined the Union - Obverse - Quarter

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The statehood quarters program has become one of the most popular commemorative coin programs in United States history; the United States Mint has estimated that over one hundred million individuals have collected state quarters, either formally or informally.

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Although the statehood program is, by legislation, intended to include only the 50 states, legislation has twice been introduced in Congress to extend the program an additional year to include the District of Columbia, the Commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. territories of Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands and American Samoa. As of June 2005, this legislation had not yet reached a floor vote.

Related Topics:
District of Columbia - Puerto Rico - Northern Mariana Islands - Guam - U.S. Virgin Islands - American Samoa - As of June 2005

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However, the 1997 act that authorized the statehood quarter program provided that if any territories, commonwealths, or the federal district became states before 2009, that new state would get a quarter.

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