Posted on 04/04/2002 6:57:36 AM PST by Dan from Michigan
5 quarter designs head to U.S. Mint
By James McCurtis Jr.
Lansing State Journal
Consumers could hold the Great Lakes, the Mackinac Bridge and an outline of Michigan in the palms of their hands when the state quarter is released in 2004.
Gov. John Engler accepted five designs Wednesday for the state quarter and they will be sent to the U.S. Mint for approval.
"I think they're great," said Gertrude Johnson of Gaylord. "I really love the bridge.''
The U.S. Mint is expected to decide between the five designs by the end of the year. The quarter will be issued as the 26th edition in the U.S. Mint's program honoring the 50 states and the nation's cultural history.
The 25-member Michigan Quarter Commission choose design concepts out of more than 1,500 entries that incorporated an outline of the state. More than 4,000 people submitted designs.
Along with a state outline, four of the five designs incorporate the Great Lakes. Others also sport an antique car to symbolize Michigan's rich auto industry.
One coin incorporates several Michigan themes with a canoe, the North Star, a pine tree to represent the booming lumber industry of the 1800s and a lighthouse.
Tim Van Holstyn, 16, doesn't think the U.S. Mint will choose the design with the multiple symbols because it's too cluttered.
"If you drew too many things on it, it would be too bunched up," Tim said.
He was one of nine students invited to the presentation at the Library of Michigan and Michigan Historical Center Building.
The students represented more than 3,400 elementary and high school students across the state who submitted designs for the quarter.
Tim, of Grand Rapids, submitted a drawing of the state map and the Great Lakes.
"They're all pretty unique," he said. "They show that the Great Lakes is one of the main things in Michigan."
Southfield's Hannah Cheriyan, 8, conducted three months of research before she submitted her drawing of the bridge, the state map and a car.
"I read a lot of Michigan books and I made a list of things that were important to Michigan," she said.
More than 4,000 people submitted designs.
Choosing the designs from more than 1,500 drawings was a difficult task, quarter commission members say.
"There's so much stuff to brag about on Michigan and you have to pick and choose what to put on a quarter," said Patrick Heller, who is a commission member and owner of Liberty Coins & Stamps in Frandor Shopping Center.
The 50 State Quarters Program started in 1999 and runs through 2008. A new quarter is introduced about every 10 weeks.
They are being issued in the order each state joined the Union. Michigan became a state on Jan. 26, 1837.
So far, 17 state quarters have been released.
Tennessee and Ohio quarters were released this year. Louisiana, Indiana and Mississippi are scheduled for circulation later in the year.
Although the entire set of 50 state quarters can be collected for $12.50, the coins are not considered collectibles because they are in regular circulation.
Engler said he's eager to see what the U.S. Mint selects.
"I'm delighted," he said. "I thought this was a terrific idea."
Quarters:
I voted for the one with the North Star, White Pine, the Bridge, and Light House. I'm an outdoorsman, and I think that's what this state is really about.
I went to the Texas site and didn't really like any of them! Ol' Rick Perry is an Aggie, so we don't get the longhorn!!
Ha! Truthfully, have you seen the choices and do you like them? I voted for the one with the bluebonnets on it. Some were so 'stark' plain!
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