2016-08-02 Tue

Quarter dollars from the 50 State Quarter series are considered to be some of the best examples of ugly designs. The 10-year annual series was initiated in 1999 to honour every state of the U.S.

Each state could choose their own designs and some were selected based on public submissions. The governors of the states would send some design concepts to the secretary of the Treasury who would return them to the states for the selection of the final design. .

Almost 35 billion State quarter dollars were produced. Michigan’s 2004 quarter featured an outline of the state and the Great Lakes with the inscription “Great Lakes State”. Some experts state that coins with multiple, unrelated themes generally fail to put the message across clearly. .

The 2004 Florida’s State quarter featured a Spanish galleon, two Sabal palmetto trees and a space shuttle with the inscription “Gateway to Discovery.” Arkansas’s quarter depicted a Diamond over a lake with a flying mallard and rice stalks.

The 2007 Wyoming quarter dollar has the silhouette of a bucking horse and rider with the inscription “The Equality State”. Collectors believe that it is an example of a good concept executed poorly. .

The 2008 New Mexico quarter dollar or the Idaho Quarter features a BIG bird flying over a small outline of the state! Though Idaho is famous for potatoes, the BIG bird was chosen to represent the state.