The State (Quarters) We're In -6/06

The State Quarters and the State We're In

By Robert G. Duncan

June 14, 2006

The following appeared as a Guest Commentary

in the July 10th issue of Coin World.

PART I

Like many collectors I frequently review and rearrange my small personal collection. This activity has long been reinforced by two considerations: First, I am a dealer and I always need more stock to sell. My second consideration reinforces the first. Another dealer I used to buy a lot of my stock from once told me he does not collect at all because he'd end up holding back some of the best items he could sell.

Recently I filled in an errant hole in my duplicate circulated State quarters set. I'll venture to say that hardly anyone realistically expects these will ever be worth more than face value, since so many untold millions of sets have already been put together. As I squeezed that quarter into its little album space, it occurred to me that I might consider breaking up the set and spending the coins. After all, I reasoned, with gasoline going for twelve quarters a gallon, I could use the money. And I haven't been exactly delighted with many of the designs.

For me, as an ex-history teacher, the series began promisingly enough with the bold rendering of Revolutionary contemporary Cesar Rodney on horseback heading to revolutionary action. What a great opening. Attractive and historical. Kudos to Delaware.

But then it was Pennsylvania's turn. Designers submitted proposals. Committees deliberated. Votes were taken. As a result of all this, a couple of small symbols were superimposed over a state outline.

Pennsylvania, where Philadelphia and Independence Hall are and where the first Congress conviened. Not to mention the spots where Ben Franklin lived and worked, “Fugio,” “Mind Your Business, ” and the chain of Colonies and other symbols of American unity and freedom flow from. Nor a nod to Pittsburgh, the steel and oil industries and Andrew Carnegie. Apparently the historical celebration was already over. The chance to render homage to America's unique and glorious heritage was largely suspended.

Then New Jersey showed Washington crossing the Delaware and I was back in the game, only to be repelled again by Georgia's peach. I agree it would have been problematic to show exiled British criminals struggling to make a living in the sultry 18th century Georgia summers. Perhaps it would have been difficult also to create a design depicting Georgia's early role as a buffer between the fledgling British North American colonies and the Florida outposts of the then mighty Spanish Empire. But really. A peach? I tell you, if I were a pecan I'd've been pretty steamed.

Connecticut put me well on the way to recovery with the Charter Oak. Well it was supposed to be the Charter Oak. They cleaned up the gnarled old thing and made it look more like the perfect maple in your front yard. At least there was an effort to emphasize an important early historical development, even if it turned out to look like a landscaping exercise.

My own state of Massachusetts carried on with the Minuteman, albeit – sigh – superimposed over an outline of the state beside a reminder that you were looking at an outline of “The Bay State.” You see, we've got this big bay over here. Pilgrims even landed on a shore of it way back when.

Maryland showed an important dome, and had to tell us it is known as the “Old Line State.” What EVerrr...

So up to mid-2000 we had seven different state quarters, four or five of which at least had some significant historical symbolism. Us history geeks were OK with that.

Then along came South Carolina, looking like something put together in an elementary school class project (which, if I recall correctly, it was!). The state outline is superimposed with all sorts of little thingies.

That was the beginning of the end of the theme of celebrating American history. Of course each state was allowed to make up its own mind about what its design would include, which is exactly the trouble: Democracy in action, diversity of opinion, majority rule (at least 50 percent plus one). So much for any consistent theme other than “this is our quarter and we'll put on it what we please. If we don't remember anything significant about our state's history, or what we remember is a little politically incorrect (Fort Sumter being blasted to surrender? Hmm, wasn't that about the rights of African-Americans or something?) we'll just use the state outline and maybe the official state tree and the official state bird and the official state title, which happens to be the same as the state tree on there.”

This might have worked if Americans really need an instant geography lesson more than an historical memento. Maybe it is. Somehow I just don't believe that.

In any case, my point is about this drift away from historical themes to geographical ones. Sure Virginia, North Carolina, Louisiana, Illinois, Alabama and even Ohio and Florida retained at least some historical design reference. If you stretch the point, so did a few others. But an increasing number have more or less followed South Carolina's lead and used state symbols which are mainly related to their contemporary environment. Leading the list so far have been Mississippi (how I would have loved to see a steamboat!), Arkansas (a cocaine-laden airplane landing in Mena? Nah, again, too politically incorrect) and Wisconsin (what a “cheesy” design!).