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The full names of only three individuals have appeared on State quarter dollar designs.
Do you know who they are?
Here's a hint: Two men and one woman are named.
Now there have been many individuals depicted in State quarter dollar designs but only these three have their full first and last names appearing as part of the design.
The first is Caesar Rodney. He's the man depicted on horseback on the 1999 Delaware coin.
The woman is Helen Keller, whose name is spelled out in Braille and in English on the 2003 Alabama coin.
The other man is John Muir, who is depicted on the 2005 California coin.
As for the others who are depicted but not named, enough clues appear in the inscriptions on the coin or the image is iconic enough to figure out who's who among the portraits. Let's see how many you remember.
The design on the 1999 New Jersey coin features Gen. George Washington and members of the Colonial Army in a rowboat crossing the Delaware River.
Though no names are given, the image was inspired by Emmanuel Leutze's painting showing Washington and his men crossing the river on their way to surprise enemy troops.
The 2001 North Carolina coin shows aviation pioneers Orville and Wilbur Wright. The design for the coin is based on the scene captured in 1903 in a widely recognized photograph showing Orville piloting the Wright Flyer aircraft while Wilbur stands in the sand at Kitty Hawk, N.C., watching the first controlled, heavier-than-air, powered flight.
The 2003 Illinois quarter dollar depicts a young Abraham Lincoln carrying books and striding forward. Even if you had never seen a younger version of our 16th president, you would probably be able to figure out who is depicted, from the text that states land of lincoln.
The 2003 Missouri coin depicts men paddling a small pirogue on a river. Though no names are given the text states corps of discovery 1804 2004. That is probably enough of a hint that two of the men are most likely Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, who led the Corps of Discovery exploration from Missouri to the Pacific Coast.
The 2006 South Dakota coin shows a rendition of Mount Rushmore National Monument featuring the faces of four American presidents – George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln – though no names are given on the coin.
All the individuals depicted on State quarter dollars are either portrayed in three-quarter or full body form. The legislation authorizing State quarter dollars prohibited the use of a bust or head-and-shoulders portrait of any individual, living or dead, and any other representation of a living person on the coins.
The prohibition of a head-and-shoulders portrait was intended to avoid the appearance of two-headed coins, as George Washington's portrait appears on the obverse of each State quarter dollar and the homage to each state appears on the reverse.
First Reports
David Minenna of Arkansas reported Aug. 7 that he received a 2008-D Arizona quarter dollar in change.
Circulation Reports
We did not receive any reports this week.
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