On New Year’s Day 1999, the American Eagle was removed from the United States quarter for the first time in over 200 years. It was almost blasphemy. The eagle was replaced by an image of Caesar.
But wait, it wasn’t replaced by the laurel wreath-topped image of the Roman politician who died 2,000 years ago. It was replaced by the image of Caesar Rodney riding gallantly on horseback. Caesar Rodney was a patriotic superhero in Delaware during the American Revolution. And because Delaware was the first state to enter the modern United States, Mr. Rodney got to be first on the back of newly minted quarters as part of the 50 State Quarters program.
In the 50 State Quarters program, each state was featured on the back of the U.S. quarter for about ten weeks. I’m not sure, but I think each state was allowed to design its own quarter. So each state had to condense its essence down to an image less than 24 millimeters in diameter. This made for an amazing “official” curation of the most iconic features of each state.
56 quarters were released in the 50 State Quarters program—50 state quarters plus 6 District of Columbia and United States Territories releases—totalling $14 in coin value. Soon after the 50 State Quarters program ended as a massive success, the America the Beautiful program began and continues to this day. The America the Beautiful program is similar to the 50 State Quarters program but features national parks or sites. It makes for another $14 worth of quarters.
These 112 quarters totaling $28 in value can be used to form the ultimate U.S.A. travel itinerary. Visit every site featured on the back of the quarters, and then you can say you’ve seen all of America. How many of these American icons have you seen?
Alabama
Helen Keller, longleaf pine (state tree), magnolia blossoms, Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site
Alaska
Grizzly bear, salmon (state fish), the North Star, Denali National Park and Preserve
American Samoa
The ava bowl, whisk, and staff, coconut tree on the shore, National Park of American Samoa
Arizona
Grand Canyon, saguaro, Grand Canyon National Park
Arkansas
Diamond (state gem), rice stalks, mallards, Hot Springs National Park
California
John Muir, California condor, Half Dome, Yosemite National Park
Colorado
Colorful mountains, Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve
Connecticut
Charter Oak, Weir Farm National Historic Site
Delaware
Caesar Rodney on horseback, Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge
District of Columbia
Duke Ellington, Frederick Douglass National Historic Site
Florida
Spanish galleon, Sabal palmetto (state tree), Space Shuttle, Everglades National Park
Georgia
Peach, live oak (state tree), Cumberland Island National Seashore
Guam
flying proa, latte stones, War in the Pacific National Historical Park
Hawaii
Statue of Kamehameha I, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Idaho
Peregrine falcon, Boise, Frank Church–River of No Return Wilderness
Illinois
Abraham Lincoln, farms, Chicago, 21 stars, Shawnee National Forest
Indiana
IndyCar, 19 stars, George Rogers Clark National Historical Park
Iowa
Schoolhouse, teacher and students planting a tree, Effigy Mounds National Monument
Kansas
American bison (state mammal), sunflowers (state flower), Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve
Kentucky
Thoroughbred racehorses, Bardstown mansion, Federal Hill, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
Louisiana
Brown pelican (state bird), trumpet music, the Louisiana Purchase, Kisatchie National Forest
Maine
Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, the schooner Victory Chimes, Acadia National Park
Maryland
Maryland State House, white oak (state tree), Fort McHenry
Massachusetts
The Minuteman statue, Lowell National Historical Park
Michigan
Great Lakes, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Minnesota
Common loon (state bird), fishing, Voyageurs National Park
Mississippi
Two magnolia blossoms (state flower), Vicksburg National Military Park
Missouri
Gateway Arch, Lewis and Clark and York, Missouri River, Ozark National Scenic Riverways
Montana
American bison, mountains, the Missouri River, Glacier National Park
Nebraska
Chimney Rock National Historic Site, Conestoga wagon, Homestead National Monument of America
Nevada
Mustangs, mountains, rising sun, sagebrush (state flower), Great Basin National Park
New Hampshire
Old Man of the Mountain, nine stars, White Mountain National Forest
New Jersey
Delaware River, George Washington, James Monroe, Ellis Island (Statue of Liberty National Monument)
New Mexico
Zia Sun Symbol, Chaco Culture National Historical Park
New York
Statue of Liberty, 11 stars, Hudson River, Erie Canal, Saratoga National Historical Park
North Carolina
Wright Flyer, John T. Daniels, Wright brothers, Blue Ridge Parkway
North Dakota
American bison, badlands, Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Northern Mariana Islands
limestone latte, canoes of the indigenous Carolinians, white fairy tern birds, Carolinian mwar, American Memorial Park
Ohio
Wright Flyer (built by the Wright Brothers who were born in Dayton, Ohio), astronaut (Neil Armstrong was a native of Wapakoneta, Ohio), Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial
Oklahoma
Scissor-tailed flycatcher (state bird), with Indian blankets (state wildflower), Chickasaw National Recreation Area
Oregon
Crater Lake National Park, Mt. Hood National Forest
Pennsylvania
Commonwealth statue, keystone, Gettysburg National Military Park
Puerto Rico
Historic sentry box at Castillo San Felipe del Morro and a maga flower, El Yunque National Forest
Rhode Island
America’s Cup yacht Reliance on Narragansett Bay, Pell Bridge, Block Island National Wildlife Refuge
South Carolina
Carolina wren (state bird), yellow jessamine (state flower), cabbage palmetto (state tree), Fort Moultrie (Fort Sumter National Monument)
South Dakota
Mount Rushmore, ring-necked pheasant (state bird), wheat (state grass), Mount Rushmore
Tennessee
Fiddle, trumpet, guitar, musical score, three stars, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Texas
Star, lariat, San Antonio Missions National Historical Park
U.S. Virgin Islands
Three major islands, the bananaquit, the yellow cedar or yellow elder, tyre palm trees, Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve
Utah
Golden Spike, Locomotives Jupiter, No. 119, Transcontinental Railroad, Arches National Park
Vermont
Maple trees with sap buckets, Camel’s Hump Mountain, Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park
Virginia
Ships Susan Constant, Godspeed, Discovery, Jamestown, Shenandoah National Park
Washington
Leaping salmon, Mount Rainier, Olympic National Park
West Virginia
New River Gorge Bridge, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
Wisconsin
Head of a cattle, round of cheese and ear of corn (state grain), Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
Wyoming
Bucking Horse and Rider, Yellowstone National Park
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