Collecting fifty state quarters

Have you started collecting the state quarters? From year 1999 through 2008 you will be able to collect a state quarter every ten weeks. The “50 States Commemorative Coin Program Act” states that the U.S. Mint will produce five new commemorative quarters in each of the next ten years. Each quarter will feature a different U.S. state. There has not been a change in coin circulation since the Eisenhower dollar in 1971. The design on the back of each quarter is related to the state's history and traditions. The order the states joined the union is how the quarters are released. The front of each quarter will be a portrait of George Washington, but on the back of each state quarter will be a symbol from its history.

I believe consumers are taking a closer look at their pocket change in hopes one of the recently released state quarters will be there. From what I have read, 75 percent of people are interested in collecting the new quarters.

There are three mints that have been produced for each state quarters. You will notice the letter “P” on the head of the coin. This represents the Philadelphia mint mark. The “D” on the head of the coin represents Denver mint mark. There is also an “S” which represents San Francisco mint mark. Normally the banks in the West will have coins stuck at the Denver Mint while the banks on the East Coast will have coins stuck at the Philadelphia Mint.

(From the Aug 28, 2000 issue of Coin World)

According to the U.S. Mint, its marketing surveys show that more than 100 million adults in the United States are actively collecting the new quarters. (One can safely project that a least half that number again of young people - under age 18 that the survey didn't count - are also collecting.) That is, people are saving, buying and exchanging quarters in order to form collections.

There will be 500 to 750 million of each quarter produced in the series. The coin market seems to be gaining popularity because of the death of the baseball card. Coin collecting should be done because people like to do it, not because of the investment. What is interesting is that if two people want the same coin, the value of this particular coin will increase.

Uncirculated Mint Sets

These are coins that are packed by the United States government for sale to coin collectors. Every denomination for each state is included in this set. Keep in mind that these sets are not minted with any special quality features.

Below is the schedule of commemorative coins for the years 2000 through 2008. Keep in mind that the date (month) the individual state became a union necessarily is not the month it will be released.

1999 COMMEMORATIVE COINS

Delaware December 7, 1787

Pennsylvania December 12, 1787

New Jersey December 18, 1787

Georgia January 2, 1788

Connecticut January 8, 1788

2000 COMMEMORATIVE COINS

Massachusetts February 6, 1788

Maryland April 28, 1788

South Carolina May 23, 1788

New Hampshire June 21, 1788, Mint Issue Date: August 2000

Virginia June 25, 1788, Mint Issue Date: October 2000

2001 COMMEMORATIVE COINS

New York July 26, 1788

North Carolina November 21, 1789

Rhode Island May 29, 1790

Vermont March 4, 1791

Kentucky June 1, 1792

2002 COMMEMORATIVE COINS

Tennessee June 1, 1796

Ohio March 1, 1803

Louisiana April 30, 1812

Indiana December 11, 1816

Mississippi December 10, 1817

2003 COMMEMORATIVE COINS

Illinois December 3, 1818

Alabama December 14, 1819

Maine March 15, 1820

Missouri August 10, 1821

Arkansas June 15, 1836

2004 COMMEMORATIVE COINS

Michigan January 26, 1837

Florida March 3, 1845

Texas December 29, 1845

Iowa December 28, 1846

Wisconsin May 29, 1848

2005 COMMEMORATIVE COINS

California September 9, 1850

Minnesota May 11, 1858

Oregon February 14, 1859

Kansas January 29, 1861

West Virginia June 20, 1863

2006 COMMEMORATIVE COINS

Nevada October 31, 1864

Nebraska March 1, 1867

Colorado August 1, 1876

North Dakota November 2, 1889

South Dakota November 2, 1889

2007 COMMEMORATIVE COINS

Montana November 08, 1889

Washington November 11, 1889

Idaho July 3, 1890

Wyoming July 10, 1890

Utah January 4, 1896

2008 COMMEMORATIVE COINS

Oklahoma November 16, 1907

New Mexico January 6, 1912

Arizona February 14, 1912

Alaska January 3, 1959

Hawaii August 21, 1959