New Program to Follow Popular 50 State Quarters

By: Michael Zielinski

The historic 50 State Quarters Program draws to a close, with the release of the latest coin honoring the state of Hawaii. During the last ten years, quarters were released honoring all fifty states in the order they joined they ratified the Constitution or joined the Union. The program exceeded even the most optimistic predictions for widespread public success.

It is estimated that as many as 147 million Americans have collected State Quarters. In total, more than 34 billion of the coins were minted. The new series is credited with helping to reinvigorate the hobby of coin collecting, as well as teach millions of American's more about the geography of their country and the history and unique aspects of each of the states. With the final quarter now in circulation, many are asking what's next for the quarter?

Next year a special one year follow up program will begin, known as the District of Columbia and United States Territories Quarter Program. This program is structured similarly to the 50 State Quarters Program and will honor other jurisdictions of the United States that are not classified as States.

Specifically, separate circulating commemorative quarters will be issued for each U.S. territory and the District of Columbia. A total of six new quarters will be issued for Washington, D.C., the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Each coin will feature a unique reverse design representative of the District of Columbia and each individual Territory. The design selection process includes consultation with the chief executive of D.C. and each Territory, consultation with the Commission of Fine Arts, and review by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee. The Secretary of the Treasury has final approval for each design.

The design selection process usually includes several candidate designs before the final selections are decided. The Puerto Rico quarter proposed designs include a depiction of the Governor's residence, a fortress parapet with the national flower, or the Arecibo Observatory. American Samoa's proposed designs include depiction of a man holding a dried coconut cup used in the ava ceremony, a collection of items representative of American Samoa, and some of the same items with the coastline in the background.

Some quarter designs have already been selected by residents or other responsible figures. The Secretary of the Treasury does have final approval over all designs, however he will usually agree with the design recommendation reached through the selection process. Washington, D.C.'s candidate designs included depictions of Frederick Douglas, Benjamin Banneker, and Duke Ellington. By popular vote. D.C. residents selected the Duke Ellington design. Guam's design was also chosen by popular vote includes an outline of the island, a Flying Proa, and a stone Latte. The design for the U.S. Virgin Islands quarter features the Banana Quit, Yellow Cedar flower, and an outline of the islands. The design for the Northern Mariana Islands features a stone Lattte, coconut trees, a sailing vessel, and native plants and birds.

The new quarters will be issued for circulation starting in 2009, released in equal intervals throughout the year. Collectors who assembled all 50 State Quarters will now have an additional six quarters to add to their collection!


Author Resource:->  Michael Zielinski is an internet entrepreneur and coin collector. Find more information on the upcoming US Territories Quarters or all of the previously released State Quarters.

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