Artistry & Nostalgia

Recently, my bowl of loose change was almost full after about a year of accumulation. I had around a half-gallon of coins, so it was time to bring them to a coin counting machine for redemption. At the time, I had been involved in an ongoing conversation about the artistry of the state quarter designs. So, motivation met opportunity, and I decided to see what I might find in my cache of coins.

I was impressed with the yield: I found 47 of the 50 state quarters (5 designs were issued annually from 1999 to 2008). Even after a couple decades or so of circulation, a mostly complete set is there for the finding (and it’s easy to acquire the rest in the numismatic marketplace). I also looked for the six D.C./territories quarters, issued in 2009, which I consider to be part of the 50 State Quarters series. (They have the same obverse and a very similar reverse template.) But, with lower mintages during an economic downturn, the 2009 issues were more elusive—I only found one, and it looked like it had been roughed up in a garbage disposal.

Educational and Appealing Designs

Overall, the experience reminded me of the popular numismatic saying that coins are “history in your hands.” I saw events like the Louisiana Purchase (Louisiana) and the founding of Jamestown (Virginia); journeys including the Lewis and Clark Expedition (Missouri), Western Trails (Nebraska), and the transcontinental railroad (Utah); and the lives of Helen Keller (Alabama) and Duke Ellington (Washington, D.C.). I saw various cultural elements, including sailing in Rhode Island, maple syrup in Vermont, equestrianism in Kentucky, music in Tennessee, and agriculture in Wisconsin. And among the representations of nature were Nevada’s horses, Colorado’s mountains, and Washington’s salmon. And there’s so much more—each state or territory’s quarter displays a design representing the pride of the state’s residents and provides a learning opportunity for residents of other states.

As meaningful as these representations are, I think that the aesthetics of the state and territorial quarters are pretty variable. The designs fall into two broad categories: collages and single scenes. And while I understand that collages (and state outlines) are prevalent because it’s difficult to select a single element to represent a state’s history and culture, I consider the single scenes to be much more effective artistically. (This, to me, is what made the Canadian provincial/territorial quarters of 1992 so artistically successful, as well as the U.S. Mint’s America the BeautifulQuarters^®  of 2010-21.) 

The most artistically successful issues (in my opinion, and in order of issue) are North Carolina’s first flight, Rhode Island’s sailboat, Vermont’s maple trees, Kentucky’s pasture, and Puerto Rico’s citadel. But, of course, artistry is only part of the equation. All issues should be appreciated as representations of the states or territories they honor. 

The State Quarter Program’s Legacy

So, more than a quarter century after the debut of the state quarters program, what is its legacy? One element is that state quarters set the stage for the expansion of programs with rotating designs, which have become prevalent in the 21st century. And, the U.S. Mint has estimated that 156 million people collected state quarters at some point. My sense is that this number arises from a generous definition of collecting, but even so, that’s a major increment, with some new collectors entering into more extensive and more enduring numismatic interests.

In the legislation authorizing the 50 State Quarters program, Congress found that it would be appropriate to use coinage “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.” My recent experience (minus the youth!) confirms the validity of this idea, for the many people who have collected state quarters, and for those who will collect them—from circulation, or otherwise—in the future. Evidently, the popular series continues to provide an accessible and affordable avenue for collectors to pursue collecting.

A version of this article appears in the July 2025 issue of The Numismatist (money.org).