Copyright © 2000 by Michael
Segers, All rights reserved
Somewhere
along about the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal, America lost its history.
Our shared experience and values now come from mass media and consumerism; one
of the saddest aspects of the very sad situation of Elián González is that we
haven’t seen so much a confrontation between Fidel Castro and Uncle Sam as
between Fidel Castro and Mickey Mouse. Perhaps it’s a sign of my age or of our
age, here at the change of millennia, but I find myself relishing trips to Civil
War mansions, books about nineteenth century reformers, and stories about my
family and the families of friends, all of which I’ve chronicled in these
columns. Thanks to the 50 State Quarters™ Program of the United States
Mint, we all have the opportunity to carry around in our pockets reminders of
our country’s colorful history.
The
Mint will produce over a decade (beginning last year) a series of quarters
honoring the fifty states of the United States (not including the District of
Columbia or US territories). Five new quarters will be introduced each year,
commemorating the states in the order in which they were admitted to the union.
So, in 1999, quarters were issued commemorating the first states to ratify the
Constitution, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia and Connecticut, and
the series will continue until 2008, when quarters honoring the most recently
admitted states, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska, and Hawaii, will be
issued.
According
to Public Law 105-124, which President Clinton signed in December 1997,
"Congress finds that it is appropriate and timely to honor the unique
Federal Republic of 50 States that comprise the United States." Beginning
in January 1998, Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin wrote state governors about
the project, which involves both Treasury and state involvement, with
opportunities for citizen input into the design of the quarters.
The
law authorizing the production of the state quarters mentions that one goal of
the project is "to promote the diffusion of knowledge among the youth of
the United States about the individual states, their history and geography, and
the rich diversity of the national heritage." So, the United States Mint
has worked with educational organizations to develop related materials for
classroom use and has some fascinating information on its web site.
The
quarter was chosen because it is the coin of the largest size in general
circulation. Quarters released for general circulation will be from the
Philadelphia Mint and the Denver Mint, while proof sets will be produced at the
San Francisco Mint. The quarters are distributed by the Federal Reserve through
commercial banks. The Mint is maintaining on its web site (see below) a summary
of when and where new quarters are reported in circulation.
Over
the ten years in which the quarters are issued, all fifty can be collected for
only $12.50. Of course, true coin collectors will want to have the general
circulation coins from Denver and Philadelphia, as well as the coins in proof
sets from San Francisco. Typical of our times, you can spend much more than
$12.50 on various albums and maps to display the coins. It is very unlikely that
sets of these coins will ever gain much value. If you collect them over a
decade, your set may take on some sentimental value, and I would suggest that
you record the date you acquire each new quarter and perhaps a word about the
circumstances in which you found it.
Oh,
if you ever tire of your collection, remember that vending machines accept these
quarters. I found this information and so much more at the US Mint’s web site,
one of those "dot gov" sites which I enjoy—our tax dollars at work:
Ramble
around and look at the treasures assembled there—even a screen saver based on
the new quarters. To learn about the release of the Georgia quarter last year,
check:
www.usmint.gov/50States/states/ga/ga_launch.cfm
For
great sites loaded with maps and information to enhance your collection of state
quarters, go to:
www.timwhite.home.avana.net/maps/us/usa.html
Get
serious, with "State and County Demographic and Economic Profiles,"
which you can find at:
Or
take a lighter trip through "Roadside America":
www.roadsideamerica.com/index.html
To
keep up with online newspapers from across the fifty states, do some reading at:
www.onlinenewspapers.com/usatable.htm
And
if these fifty quarters are not enough for you, and you want to expand your coin
collection, the About.com Coin Collecting site will keep you busy for a long
time:
Some
years ago, I drove from Sylvester to Boulder, Colorado. Since my car lacked
air-conditioning and FM radio, I was aware of changes as I crossed the country.
I remember with special pleasure that as I drove through a small, dusty town in
Oklahoma, I learned that if I bought a fifty-pound bag of dog food, I could
bring my old hound dog in for a free dip against ticks. Still, I was sad that
each of the three nights that I was on the road, I ended up staying in a motel
that was within two blocks of a WalMart.
It
seems we all are starting to sound alike, shop alike, eat alike, even think
alike. But, join me, with feet dry and heart full of noble thoughts of those who
came before us and carved out the fifty distinct entities that the Mint is now
honoring. As you rove through these sites full of information about the fifty
states, maybe you’ll also join me in being amazed at what a rich, diverse,
even cantankerous nation we have the privilege and responsibility of living in.