The Fifty-State Quarter program is now nearing an end. 42 states' quarters are out in general circulation. That has made the change in our pockets a lot more interesting than it used to be. When you get change, you could get Massachusetts or Georgia or Oregon or a collection of such states. The designs have turned out to be interesting. They include the horses of Nevada, the branching tree of Connecticut, the spectacular bridge of West Virginia, the Double Buffalo quarters of North Dakota, train vs train of Utah, and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds with Arkansas. All of them say something about the state. Some ancient, such as the Jamestown settlement of Virginia, and some recent, such as the space shuttle of Florida. Some urban, such as the city skyline of Illinois, some rural as in Wisconsin and Iowa, and some wilderness such as Washington State. Some serious struggles as with New Jersey, and some leisure with Rhode Island. Mammals in Delaware and Kansas; birds in Louisiana and Minnesota, fish in Washington, trees in Vermont and Connecticut, flowers in Mississippi and South Carolina, and food in Wisconsin. So there is a wide variety.
What do I think of the coins? I have ranked them below. I have included states htat have not come out yet; 2007's have come out and one can find them on the Internet; 2008's are still to be decided upon and for these, I made a guess as to what the coin will contain. To me Nevada has the best design of all; the horses and sun are spectacular. California is next because it is a good nature scene. The worst are Montana celebrating death, Indiana celebrating a culture that turns me off, and New Hampshire, which just plain looks ugly. Here is the complete list:
1. Nevada. Horses and Sun are spectacular.
2. California. Great nature scene of hiker and condor.
3. Maine. Good shore scene with lighthouse.
4. Utah. The old-fashioned trains make this one interesting.
5. Iowa. Schoolhouse gives this a rural flavor.
6. West Virginia. Spectacular view from this bridge.
7. North Dakota. Our only two-buffalo coin.
8. Nebraska. Sunshine and scenery.
9. Vermont. Attractive scene of maple sapping.
10. [Alaska]. Good if it contains either polar bear or Big Dipper.
11. South Carolina. Attractive elements but a little crowded.
12. Connecticut. Most intricate of the coins.
13. Kansas. Good try at buffalo coin but too much open space.
14. [Arizona]. Cactus seems dreary - need some spark.
15. Georgia. Peach looks nice but otherwise hackneyed.
16. Rhode Island. Good summer scene but little to do with RI.
17. [New Mexico]. Native American design is interesting - nuke cloud would be frightening.
18. Wisconsin. Good elements but a little busy.
19. Texas. Looks plain but star is distinctive.
20. Minnesota. Good wilds scene but other coins have wilds scenes.
21. Arkansas. Diamond makes this one distinctive.
22. [Oklahoma]. Need something more than outline and woman.
23. North Carolina. Good history but plain design.
24. Alabama. Honors great person but design somewhat unattractive.
25. New Jersey. Battle scene interesting but can be confused with Virginia.
26. Washington. Naturalistic but ordinary.
27. South Dakota. Too obvious and pheasant is not native.
28. [Hawaii]. All designs look too obvious.
29. Tennessee. Instruments good but does not give overall good look.
30. Illinois. Too busy but Lincoln and towers give it a good look.
31. Oregon. Too obvious. What more?
32. Kentucky. Horse would be better outside the fence.
33. Virginia. Too ordinary - honors invaders.
34. Missouri. Arch and boat too incongruous.
35. Idaho. Why does this have a peregrine falcon head?
36. Louisiana. Louisiana, not entire US. But pelican is good.
37. New York. Too obvious but formidable symbol anyway.
38. Ohio. Too much empty space; contradicts North Carolina.
39. Colorado. Too ordinary; looks like torn paper instead of mountains.
40. Delaware. Horseman good but there is more to the state than that.
41. Florida. Three haphazard symbols and too much empty space.
42. Pennsylvania. Too ordinary.
43. Mississippi. Too obvious - was not designed by Mississippians.
44. Massachusetts. Too obvious and trite.
45. Wyoming. Too obvious and trite; also represents cowboy mentality.
46. Michigan. Is about Great Lakes not Michigan.
47. New Hampshire. Rock is ugly and formation crumbled in 2003.
48. Maryland. What's there to like about a steeple?
49. Indiana. Honors undesirable culture.
50. Montana. Symbolizes death.
All I ask now of the US Mint is please don't go back to the eagle in 2009! Continue the commemoration in these quarters and keep our change interesting. My idea is to start all over again with Delaware. Have Delaware find a different design for its coins; perhaps the Lewes Ferry. The same with Pennsylvania and all the rest. The mint could use historical events, trees, birds, or one of a number of themes. But select one and go with it. Let's not go back to the eagle.
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