The State Quarters Program came about as a result of the 50 States Commemorative Coin Program Act (Public Law 105-124) which was signed into law by President Clinton on December 1, 1997.

The 50 State Quarters and Greetings from America stamps (3 1/2' x 2 1/2') will be sold as a state card subscription series or as an annual product. The quarters are encased in rotatable blisters so both sides of the coin are visible.

50 State Quarters (1999-2008) and 6 Territorial Quarters (2009) 1999 Information under each quarter: State Name/ Statehood Date/ Design Theme/ Issue Date/ Series Number. Coin Value Price Chart for 50 States and Territories Quarters 25C. Lookup Coin values for Good, Very Good, Fine, Very Fine, Brilliant Uncirculated & Proof conditions and MS grade. How much 50 States and Territories Quarters are worth. Coins for sale for 50 States and Territories type Quarters items. The State Quarters Program, see list of state quarters below, came about as a result of the 50 States Commemorative Coin Program Act (Public Law 105-124) which was signed into law by President Clinton on December 1, 1997. As a result of this Act, each of the 50 United States of America have had a commemorative quarter issued in their honor. The 50 State Quarters Program was the largest & most successful coin program in U.S. It ran from 1999 to 2008, and it remains one of the most popular ways to get newbies (and kids) started collecting coins. See state quarter errors, current state quarter values, and tips for collecting the state quarters.

As a result of this Act, each of the 50 United States of America have had a commemorative quarter issued in their honor.

The state quarters were issued five per year beginning in 1999 according to the order in which each state joined the union. (See list of state quarters below)

The obverse or front of the quarters didn't see much change. They still feature a portrait of George Washington, however the inscriptions - 'United States of America', 'Liberty', 'In God We Trust', and 'Quarter Dollar', which had been on the reverse of prior quarters, were moved to the obverse to leave the reverse of the coin free for each state's unique design.

Each state designed the reverse of a coin according to guidelines set out in the 50 States Commemorative Coin Program Act.

Here are the guidelines as quoted from the United States Mint website:

• Designs shall maintain a dignity befitting the Nation's coinage.


• Designs shall have broad appeal to the citizens of the state and avoid controversial subjects or symbols that are likely to offend.


• Suitable subject matter for designs include state landmarks (natural and man-made), landscapes, historically significant buildings, symbols of state resources or industries, official state flora and fauna, state icons (e.g.. Texas Lone Star, Wyoming bronco, etc.), and outlines of the state.


• State flags and state seals are not considered suitable for designs.


• Consistent with the authorizing legislation, the states are encouraged to submit designs that promote the diffusion of knowledge among the youth of the United States about the state, its history and geography, and the rich diversity of our national heritage.


• Priority consideration will be given to designs that are enduring representations of the state. Coins have a commercial life span of at least 30 years and are collected for generations.


• Inappropriate design concepts include, but are not limited to logos or depictions of specific commercial, private, educational, civic, religious, sports, or other organizations whose membership or ownership is not universal.

It was up to the governor of each state to come up with a selection process for the design of their state quarter.

Many states had contests among citizens of the state in their selection process.

The state would then submit from 3 to 5 design concepts to The United States Mint and the Mint would produce original artwork of the concepts.

After Recommendations from The Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee and the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, the designs were sent to Secretary of the Treasury for review and approval.

The designs that were approved by the Secretary of the Treasury were then sent back to the state for final selections.

The State Quarter Program has been instrumental in creating thousands of new coin collectors by providing a way for ordinary people to create impressive coin collections from circulating coins found in their everyday pocket change.

The State Quarter Program is a perfect series of coins for the beginner to start with.

50 State Quarters Program Lincoln

Finally, you have reached the list of state quarters. They are grouped by the year in which they were released.

Click on the state that you are interested in to see more about that state's quarter, including images and mintage figures.

The 50 State Quarters Program has run its course with the release of five different quarters each year from 1999 to 2008. Each quarter featured a different design highlighting the uniqueness and history of each state.

The program has been credited with reinvigorating the hobby of coin collecting. It provided individuals with the opportunity to build an impressive collection of coins from their daily pocket change. The program also provided a valuable learning experience about the richness and diversity of the states. Anyone following or collecting the series could have learned a great deal about history and geography.

50 State Quarters Program

State Quarters were authorized under the 50 States Commemorative Coin Program Act (Public Law 105-124) signed into law on December 1, 1997 by President Clinton. The Act provided for the redesign and issuance of a circulating commemorative quarter dollar coin for each of the 50 States beginning in 1999.

At the time, the program represented an ambitious and unprecedented change for circulating coinage. New designs would be issued five times per year for a ten year period, yielding a total of fifty different designs. Before the program, a single design had been used for each denomination for a period of twenty five years of more. The design for the quarter dollar had remained essentially the same since the launch of the Washington Quarter series in 1932, with the exception of the bicentennial design used in 1976.

The authorizing legislation for the State Quarters explained some of the purposes of the new designs:

“To honor the unique Federal Republic of 50 States that comprise the United States; 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;” and to encourage “young people and their families to collect memorable tokens of all of the States for the face value of the coins.”

State Quarter Designs

The obverse of each State Quarter bears a consistent design featuring a portrait of George Washington. The design is similar to the prior design of the Washington Quarter series. It bears four inscriptions, some of which previously appeared on the reverse of the quarter. The obverse inscriptions are: “United States of America,” “Liberty,” “In God We Trust,” and “Quarter Dollar.”

The reverse of each State Quarter carries a design emblematic of one of the 50 States. The authorizing legislation provided some basic guidelines for the design. Each quarter must bear a dignified design of which the citizens of the United States can be proud. No frivolous or inappropriate designs should be selected. In addition, the reverse design cannot use a head and shoulders portrait or bust of any person living or dead. No living person may be included in a design. Inscriptions typically found on all State Quarter reverses include the state name, statehood date, date of mintage, and “E Pluribus Unum.”

The reverse designs for each quarter were created through consultation with the governor of each state. The governor typically involved the citizens of the State and/or an appointed committee to generate potential design concepts. The United States Mint would generate coin designs based on the concepts, which would be reviewed by the governor, the Commission of Fine Arts, and the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee. Final approval for each design would be at the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury.

List Of State Quarters | State Symbols USA

State Quarter Releases and Mintages

State Quarters have been released during the ten year period beginning with 1999 and concluding in 2008. Five different reverse designs have been issued per year with the release dates occurring at roughly ten weeks intervals. The order of release was based on the order the states ratified the Constitution or were admitted to the Union.

50 State Quarters Set Abraham Lincoln

The mintages for each of the 50 State Quarters have varied widely over the ten year program. The highest mintages occurred in the first few years of the program with eight designs having a mintage over 1 billion from late 1999 to early 2001. The middle and later years of the program experienced the lowest mintages with twelve years having a mintage less than 500 million concentrated in 2003, 2004, and 2008.

After the 50 State Quarters

The 50 State Quarters Program reached completion in late 2008 with the release of the Hawaii Quarter. Under a separate provision included in the 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act, quarters were issued in 2009 to honor the District of Columbia and the five United States Territories. The familiar obverse design from the State Quarters Program will be used with a unique reverse design for each of the six locations. This separate program was known as the District of Columbia and US Territories Quarters Program.

50 State Quarters Collector's Map

Starting in 2010, another program featuring rotating reverse designs for quarters was launched. The America the Beautiful Quarters were authorized under America’s Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin Act of 2008. A total of 56 different quarters will be released over 12 years featuring a National Park or other National Site in each state, US territory, and the District of Columbia.