50 State Quarters: Facts and Trivia About What's Featured on Each Coin

Now that the United States Mint has finally released the last 50 State Quarters proof set, it is now possible to have a complete collection of all 50 quarters of the U.S. Mint's vastly popular 50 State Quarters program, running from 1999 to 2008. It is unbelievable how fast 10 years have flown by, and while a bill has been passed that extends the program into next year to include quarters honoring Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands, these will officially be part of a new series called the District of Columbia and the United States Territories Quarter Program.

So, with this year marking the end of the 50 State Quarters' production, let us take a look at the many designs the U.S. Mint has given us over the past ten years. How many different designs contain animals, historic figures, even food? I looked over the fifty quarter designs, and this is what I have concluded.

How Many Recognizable Historic Figures?

There were at least nine quarters which depict identifiable, historic people. Below are those figures.

Caesar Rodney, appearing on the 1999 Delaware Quarter

George Washington crossing the Delaware River on the 1999 New Jersey Quarter

The Wright brothers (Orville and Wilbur) flying over Kitty Hawk on the 2001 North Carolina Quarter

Abraham Lincoln on the 2003 Illinois Quarter

Helen Keller on the 2003 Alabama Quarter

Explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on the 2003 Missouri Quarter

Naturalist John Muir on the 2005 California Quarter

George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt on Mount Rushmore, depicted on the 2006 South Dakota Quarter

Hawaii's King Kamehameha I on the 2008 Hawaii Quarter

Mmm...Food!

Yes, believe it or not, the Statehood quarters covered so much of America's culture and diversity, some of the coins even depicted our food (well, not all of it, but enough to get your appetite going!). Let's look at what quarters portray some culinary classics (not including animal meat).

The peach, on 1999's Georgia Quarter

Maple syrup (in the form of maple sap being tapped) on the 2001 Vermont Quarter

Cheese and corn on the 2004 Wisconsin Quarter

Vehicles

We are a nation of commuters, travelers, and sight-seers. The 50 State Quarters program recognized that, too, by honoring many forms of transportation.

The boat upon which Washington crossed the Delaware River on the 1999 New Jersey Quarter

English sailing ships on the 2000 Virginia Quarter

The Wright Brother's plane on the 2001 North Carolina Quarter

A recreational sailboat on the 2001 Rhode Island Quarter

An early plane on the 2002 Ohio Quarter

An "Indy" car on the 2002 Indiana Quarter

A sail boat on the 2003 Maine Quarter

A row boat (carrying Lewis and Clark) on the 2003 Missouri Quarter

Explorer Ponce De Leon's(?) Ship and NASA's space shuttle on the 2004 Florida Quarter

A small motor boat on the 2005 Minnesota Quarter

A livestock-drawn carriage on the 2006 Nebraska Quarter

Two locomotives on the 2007 Utah Quarter

Architecture

The designers of the 50 State Quarters did not forget an homage to America's beautiful buildings and architecture!

The Maryland State House dome on the state's 2000 quarter

A Kentucky Mansion on the state's 2001 quarter

A suspension bridge on the 2001 Rhode Island Quarter

A profile of a barn and silo and modern-day downtown Chicago on the 2003 Illinois Quarter

St. Louis Arch on the 2003 Missouri Quarter

A traditional school house on the 2004 Iowa Quarter

A bridge on the 2005 West Virginia Quarter

Geography

The 50 State Quarters are as educational as they are beautiful. Some of the quarters even depict the outline of some states' borders. Below are the quarters with the respective honored state's border profile.

1999 Pennsylvania Quarter

1999 Georgia Quarter

2000 Massachusetts Quarter

2000 South Carolina Quarter

2001 New York Quarter

2002 Ohio Quarter

2002 Indiana Quarter

2002 Louisiana Quarter

2003 Illinois quarter

2004 Michigan Quarter

2004 Texas Quarter

2005 Minnesota Quarter

2007 Idaho Quarter

2008 New Mexico Quarter

2008 Hawaii Quarter

Plants, Trees and Flowers Galore

Aside from the many wreaths which adorn the 50 State quarter designs, let us examine the program's numerous tributes to our nation's flora.

The Charter Oak on the 1999 Connecticut Quarter

Palmetto and the Carolina Yellow Jessamine on the 2000 South Carolina Quarter

Maple trees on the 2001 Vermont Quarter

Magnolias on the 2002 Mississippi Quarter

The apple blossom and pine trees on the 2003 Arkansas Quarter

Trees on the banks of the Mississippi River on the 2003 Missouri Quarter

Trees on the 2003 Maine Quarter

Small, newly planted tree on the 2004 Iowa Quarter

Palm trees on the 2004 Florida Quarter

Spruce trees on the 2005 Oregon Quarter

Trees on the 2005 West Virginia Quarter

Conifers on the 2005 Minnesota Quarter

The sunflower on the 2005 Kansas Quarter

Conifers on the 2006 Colorado Quarter

A grassy prairie on the 2006 North Dakota Quarter

Conifers on the 2007 Washington Quarter

Indian blanket wildflowers on the 2008 Oklahoma Quarter

Cacti on the 2008 Arizona Quarter

Conifers on the 2008 Alaska Quarter

Animals

Of course, what would a tribute to the 50 states of the Union be without a nod to the creatures who live among us? Here is a breakdown of the animals that can be found on the 50 State Quarters.

Horse on the 1999 Delaware Quarter

Carolina Wren on the 2000 South Carolina Quarter

Horse on the 2001 Kentucky Quarter

Eastern brown pelican on the 2002 Louisiana Quarter

Mockingbird on the 2003 Arkansas Quarter

Birds flying in the background of the 2003 Maine Quarter

Cow on the 2004 Wisconsin Quarter

Buffalo on the 2005 Kansas Quarter

Bird on the 2005 California Quarter

Duck on the 2005 Minnesota Quarter

Wild horses on the 2006 Nevada Quarter

Bisons on the 2006 North Dakota Quarter

Cattle on the 2006 Nebraska Quarter

Ring-necked pheasant flying on the 2006 South Dakota Quarter

Bison skull on the 2007 Montana Quarter

Peregrine falcon on the 2007 Idaho Quarter

A trout on the 2007 Washington Quarter

Profile of a bucking horse on the 2007 Wyoming Quarter

Scissortail flycatcher bird on the 2008 Oklahoma Quarter

Grizzly bear and fish on the 2008 Alaska Quarter

Miscellaneous Items

Something else that makes the 50 State Quarters fascinating is that there are numerous other interesting things to find on the coins besides state symbols and historic figures. Consider the following items, all of which turn up on the Statehood quarters.

"The Old Man of the Mountain" on the 2000 New Hampshire Quarter; the Old Man of the Mountain was a series of natural ledges on a New Hampshire cliffside. The cliffs, at a certain angle, looked like the profile of an old man and has been noted in many books, passages, and poems, and popular culture references dating back centuries. Sadly, in 2003, natural forces caught up with the "Old Man," and the formation collapsed after centuries. There was much public mourning over the loss of this beloved natural icon.

Minuteman and gun on the 2000 Massachusetts Quarter

Statue of Liberty on the 2001 New York Quarter

Guitar, fiddle, and a trumpet with musical staff paper on the 2002 Tennessee Quarter

Trumpet and musical notes on the 2002 Louisiana Quarter

Astronaut on the 2002 Ohio Quarter

Diamond on the 2003 Arkansas Quarter

Armchair and braille on the 2003 Alabama Quarter

Fishing rods being held by fishers on a boat on the 2005 Minnesota Quarter

Walking stick (a type of cane, not the insect) on the 2005 California Quarter

The sun and famous "Chimney Rock" formation on the 2006 Nebraska Quarter

The sun on the 2006 North Dakota Quarter

Railroad spike on the 2007 Utah Quarter

Zia sun symbol on the 2008 New Mexico Quarter

The sun on the 2008 Arizona Quarter

An Interesting Point to Ponder

Talk about "two-headed coins"....Did you notice that Washington appears on both the obverse (front of the coin) and reverse (back of the coin) on two of the Statehood quarters? Indeed, not only does one find his bust on the front of all the 50 State Quarters coins, but he also appears on the reverse of the 1999 New Jersey Quarter as he crosses the Delaware, and on the reverse of the 2006 South Dakota Quarter, on Mount Rushmore!

Resources:

2000 Time Almanac. Family Education Company, Boston; 1999.
http://www.coinfacts.com/quarter_dollars/50_states_quarters/tennessee.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Man_of_the_Mountain