50 State Quarters program - Statehood Quarters

The 50 State Quarters program (Pub.L. 105–124, 111 Stat. 2534, enacted December 1, 1997) was the release of a series of circulating commemorative coins by the United States Mint. From 1999 through 2008, it featured each of the 50 U.S. states on unique designs for the reverse of the quarter.

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. The U.S. federal government so far has made additional profits of $3.0 billion from collectors taking the coins out of circulation.

In 2009, the U.S. Mint began issuing quarters under the 2009 District of Columbia and U.S. Territories Program. The Territories Quarter Program was authorized by the passage of a newer legislative act, H.R. 2764. This program features the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

State Quarter Program

The 50 state quarters were released by the United States Mint every ten weeks, or five each year. They were released in the same order that the states ratified the Constitution. 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.

REF







The following has the quarters grouped by year.
1999 Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut
2000 Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia
2001 New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Kentucky
2002 Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana, Mississippi
2003 Illinois, Alabama, Maine, Missouri, Arkansas
2004 Michigan, Florida, Texas, Iowa, Wisconsin
2005 California, Minnesota, Oregon, Kansas, West Virginia
2006 Nevada, Nebraska, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota
2007 Montana, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah
2008 Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska, Hawaii






Alabama - KM#344 (#22 in series)
Release Date: March 17, 2003
State Hood Date: December 14, 1819
Engraver: Norman E. Nemeth
Banner with text: "Spirit of Courage"
Caption: "Helen Keller" in standard print and Braille
Design: Helen Keller, seated, longleaf pine (state tree) branch, magnolia blossoms