Tale of 2 quarters turns loony

Denver Post ^ | 06/13/2005 | David Harsanyi

[MediaMole]

Wisconsin's quarter is the worst..

Cheesy and corny with a cow.

[Charles Martel]

I didn't need a map.

At least you didn't get a history lesson.

[cripplecreek]

Ours would have been better if we had added the Mackinaw bridge with an ore carrier or something.

[cripplecreek]

The Lewis and Clark nickel has a boat that looks like a Viking long boat.

[loreldan]

With 637 summits officially recognized as being over 13,000 ft in height, why did Owens choose a generic mountain scene? That's my main problem with our quarter.

[TexasNative2000]

Enough said.

[Oberon]

And what should they put on a Minnesota coin, an Ole and Lena joke*?

Either a grain elevator or a walleye, I should think. =]

[fso301]

I think Minnesota is fine. I don't like the Colorodo coin, too wavey.

[R. Scott]

One thing I like about the new quarters. The choice of design was left up to The People. Not one single State opted to put a politician on their quarter.

[R. Scott]

I'm happy with Virginia's

[biggerten]

Wisconsin should have shown a can of Pabst or bottle of Miller's.

[Miss Marple]

That's nice. Since our quarter design was chosen while the democrats had the statehouse, I am thinking Tony George paid a tidy sum in campaign contributions for that Indy racing car on our quarter.

[CharlesWayneCT]

I vote for Minnesota. "Drunks in Canoes"!!!

[R. Scott]

I don't think the politicians had much say in the matter.

[curmudgeonII]

When the Indiana quarter was selected the then [Democrat] Governor proudly announced that it was designed by a high school student.
It looks like it.

[Gabz]

I think each state had leeway in how they chose the design. if I remember correctly, then Gov Tom Carper appointed a "task force" to decide on a design - most public input was through polls run by local newspapers, although the "task force" did accept public input.

In reference to politicians being depicted on the coins, I would venture to agree with you, with Ceaser Rodney, Delaware's signer of the Declaration of Independence being about as close to one as they get :)

The Delaware quarter shows Patriot Caesar Rodney on his 1776 historic ride. Rodney made the 80-mile ride through terrible heat and thunderstorms to cast his vote in favor of Delaware signing the Declaration of Independence. Rodney's vote turned out to be the tie-breaker.

While I never cared much for him once he became Governor, and later congressman, I do commend US. Representative Mike Castle (R-DE) with pushing pretty hard for the 50 state program.

[Verginius Rufus]

California not only got natural wonders on their quarter, but also the founder of the Sierra Club.

The Alamo would have been the perfect image for the Texas quarter, instead of what they chose. I guess the map outlines are selected as inoffensive...but the Louisiana Purchase outline does not have the original boundary of the Louisiana Purchase, but shows the line negotiated by John Quincy Adams in 1819.

Next up: Oregon, Kansas, and West Virginia.

[N. Theknow]

After all, how do you properly depict bone-rattling sub-zero temperatures on the back of a coin?

But - It's a dry cold.

My favorite Minnesota story is my first winter there when I broke my mustache.

[savedbygrace]

So, what, do the governors get kickbacks for every quarter sold, or something? They're just tokens, after all. There's very little intrinsic value in the discs themselves, only in the common agreement to accept them as if they have a certain value.

I don't get the point of state quarters in the first place. Why should I care? Somebody please educate me, since I must be missing something here.

[Luddite Patent Counsel]

Ya heye, dere! What da hell are ya talkin' about Miller and Pabst? Ya can't look a man in da hairy eyeball and tell 'im dat any-ting but a Leinenkugel ought ta grace da back a da kwarter from da great state a Wisconsin!