Description

The 50 State Quarters Program was the release of a series of circulating commemorative coins by the United States Mint. From 1999 through 2008, the 50 state quarters were released by the United States Mint every ten weeks, or five each year.

Each quarter's reverse commemorated one of the 50 states with a design emblematic of its unique history, traditions and symbols. Certain design elements, such as state flags, images of living persons, and head-and-shoulder images of deceased persons were prohibited.

The 50 State Quarters Program was started to support a new generation of coin collectors, and it became the most successful numismatic program in history, with roughly half of the U.S. population collecting the coins, either in a casual manner or as a serious pursuit.

Quarters are issued in the order that the states ratified the Constitution. Release date (statehood date): October 15, 2001 (June 1, 1792).

Obverse

A head of George Washington, the first President of the United States, facing left.

Designer: John Flanagan (JF), 1932 version from a 1786 bust by Houdon / William Cousins.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
IN
GOD WE
TRUST
LIBERTY
D
JF
QUARTER DOLLAR

Reverse

Thoroughbred racehorse behind fence, Bardstown mansion, Federal Hill. Caption: "My Old Kentucky Home".

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. The Thoroughbred as it is known today was developed in 17th- and 18th-century England, when native mares were crossbred with imported Oriental stallions of Arabian, Barb, and Turkoman breeding.

The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is for three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of one and a quarter miles (2 km). The race is known in the United States as "The Most Exciting Two Minutes In Sports" or "The Fastest Two Minutes in Sports" for its approximate duration, and is also called "The Run for the Roses" for the blanket of roses draped over the winner.

My Old Kentucky Home State Park is a state park located in Bardstown, Kentucky. The park's centerpiece is Federal Hill, a farm owned by United States Senator John Rowan in 1795. During the Rowan family's occupation, the mansion became a meeting place for local politicians and hosted several visiting dignitaries. The farm is best known for its association with American composer Stephen Foster's anti-slavery ballad "My Old Kentucky Home, Good Night". Foster was a cousin of the Rowan family, and was likely inspired to write the ballad both by Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin and through imagery seen on visits to Federal Hill. After popularity of the song increased throughout the United States, Federal Hill was purchased by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, dedicated as a historic site, and renamed "My Old Kentucky Home" on July 4, 1923.

Engraver: T. James Ferrell (TJF).

KENTUCKY
1792
"MY OLD
KENTUCKY
HOME"
TJF
2001
E PLURIBUS UNUM

Edge
Swap now (1 offer)
Characteristics
Type Commemorative Issue (Circulating)
Material Copper Nickel Clad Copper
Weight 5.67 g
Diameter 24.3 mm
Thickness 1.75 mm
Shape round
Alignment Coin
Mints
Denver Mint (D)
Philadelphia Mint (P)
San Francisco Mint (S)

Related coins

Washington Quarter, Delaware

50 State Quarters Program

Copper Nickel Clad Copper, 5.67 g, ⌀ 24.3 mm
Washington Silver Proof Quarter, Delaware

50 State Quarters Program

Silver, 6.25 g, ⌀ 24.3 mm
Washington Quarter, Pennsylvania

50 State Quarters Program

Copper Nickel Clad Copper, 5.67 g, ⌀ 24.3 mm