The State Quarter Program and the State We're In Part 2 By Robert G. Duncan (This appeared in modified form as a Guest Commentary in Coin World's July 17 issue; below is the "uncut" author's version) Most of the rest have tended to continue the precedent established by New Hampshire and present a tourist attraction.  (Ironically NH's literally fell off the "face" of the earth soon after!  I'd like to think George Washington & Co. are still occasionally chuckling in Founding Father Heaven over that one).  Much more contemporarily functional I admit.  A great opportunity to put a free ad in the hands of millions of potential tourists.  I'm talking about you Rhode Island, Vermont, Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Maine, Missouri, Michigan, and everyone since and including California.   So the state quarter program has evolved from a celebration of American history and freedom to using freedom to market tourism.  I suppose that is neither entirely inappropriate nor unpredictable, since economic freedom has always been a key element of what has made the United States of America both special and successful.  But unity of design theme was sacrificed, making the state quarter series more a "collection" than  a "set." Another aspect of what I call the Decline of the State Quarter Program Because of Democracy and Economic Competition Among the States (actually I only called it that just now, and it tired me out so much I have learned to never call it that again) is that the designs have become much busier.   The quarter is not very large coin.  A successful design in such a small space must be kept as simple as possible in order to stand out to the naked eye.  After all most people who are not coin collectors or dealers do not go around with 5x loupes in their pockets to view the details on their pocket change.   Florida was apparently compelled to compromise and include a tiny Spanish galleon (more like a half pint than a full "Imperial" gall(e)on), an equally tiny space shuttle, and a couple of very tiny palmetto or palm trees (I'm too lazy at the moment to put my 5x loupe on it to check the tiny leaves) all in the same 24mm circle.  California has a diminutive John Muir gazing at a tiny El Capitain while a tiny eagle or hawk (I'm still too lazy to check which), apparently attempts to block his view.  At least Kansas gave us a good-sized Buffalo, although the perspective leaves us wondering: is that his/her tail, or a back leg, or what? Most recently (Spring 2006) Nevada gave us three tiny horses jumbled together between a tiny laurel wreath in front of tiny mountains under a tiny sun.  This could have been a nice design on say a full size dollar coin, or might even have helped revive the semi-obsolete half dollar.  On a quarter you need to serve the coin with at least a 3x magnifier.   I like to try to predict what will appear on the remaining quarters.  I'm no clairvoyant, but I think it's fairly safe to say we can expect mountains on Colorado's, Montana's and Wyoming's, and that Alaska's will NOT show gold miners' frozen bodies or oil slicked glaciers and dead shore birds If it was up to me, Duncan the Designated Design Dictator, Nebraska would show conestoga wagons and/or a transcontinental train leaving Omaha; Colorado would give us a picturesque gold ore processing building at the (Pike's) peak of the gold rush era; ditto for Deadwood for South Dakota, or maybe Custer leading his expedition into the Black Hills.   A romantic ghost town for Montana or Wyoming would be fun, or perhaps for the latter an arrow-riddled Custer firing his last shot at the Sioux at the Little Big Horn (oops, again way too politically incorrect!).  Washington state could show Harvey Starbuck selling coffee out of a chuckwagon (OK i made that up - I don't really know what his first name is/was), Idaho could present a big potato (I think that would be hilarious - especially if it was a Mr. Idaho Potatohead with a mustache and everything).  A copy of A.J. Russell's famous photo of the two locomotives face-to-face at the joining of the rails would be sensational for Utah, as would wagons racing to the last open land in the West in 1889 for Oklahoma, and Geronimo either posing proudly with his weapons for New Mexico and/or Arizona, or - going right back to Nebraska, Crazy Horse lying dead outside his cell after being shot by nervous guards.  (Oh dear that one would really be politically incorrect!). A jubilant if frosty gold miner holding a large nugget aloft would be more than suitable for you-know-where, and for generations to come could be a great gift when celebrating a job promotion or a poker win.  And Bob Dole (ok I made that up too, I don't really know what his first name was) admiring a pineapple for Hawaii.  As a compromise on the last, I'd be willing to have the pineapple be held by a hula dancer while both were standing on Waikiki beach, -- if the result was not too busy. North Dakota, meanwhile, will have to figure something out on its own.  I'm drawing a blank here. At the beginning of part one of this commentary I explained that the topic of state quarter designs occurred to me when I considered breaking up my circulated state quarter collection and spending the coins.  Now that I'm at the end I've decided not to.  I figure by writing this I have saved myself the cost of the gasoline I would have blown driving to some museum. Hopefully by the time the state quarter program ends a round trip to the local coin show won't cost the euivalent of an entire collection! POSTSCRIPT: A critique of my two commentaries about the evolution of the state quarter designs appeared as a Guest Commentary in the July 30 Coin World.  I have written a reply to that critique which can be read by clicking here Another Coast Heard From. -Bob

 

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