Controversary Over the Proposed Washington DC Quarter for 2009

/ Adam Nash

Don’t know how I missed this, but last month Guam, American Samoa, and Washington D.C. submitted designs to the US Mint for their 2009 quarters.

If you aren’t following this, the 50 State Quarter program ends this year, in 2008, with the 50th state, Hawaii rounding out the end of the year.  Congress passed a bill that added one year to the program in 2009, to cover Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the US Territories.

Here is an article on the American Samoa submission.  Here is another on Guam‘s submission.  Kind of cool that it has a Spanish motto on it.

Here is an article about Washington D.C.’s submissions, which included the motto, “Taxation Without Representation“, a historical reference and sly cut at Washington D.C.’s current status lacking congressional representation.

“The new quarter will teach people across the country about our city and its history. It’s my hope that those who don’t know about our disenfranchisement will soon learn about it when they’re paying a toll or buying a soda.”

The US Mint rejected their submissions as too controversial.

“Although the United States Mint expresses no position on the merits of this issue, we have determined that the proposed inscription is clearly controversial and, therefore, inappropriate as an element of design for United States coinage.”

Nothing like a little drama around coin design.

3 thoughts on “Controversary Over the Proposed Washington DC Quarter for 2009”

  1. Pingback: Still No DC Voting Rights « Bryan J. Scrafford

  2. I had heard rumblings the last two years about a D.C. state quarter, but didn’t think one would come to pass, as Washington D.C. isn’t a state. The D.C./U.S. terratory quarters will play havoc for those like myself who thought the 50 state quater program ended with Hawaii, and the maps / coin books made out to that as well. Does that mean another market of coin books for the additional 5 terretorial quarters ???

  3. Just to clarify a little something, the “motto” on the Guam quarter–if you can even call it that–is not Spanish. It’s Chamorro: “Guahan i tano’ manChamorro”. “Guam, the land of the Chamorro” . . . the Chamorro people are the native of Guam; just in case you were wondering. Please get it right, ’cause that’s a little offensive to say something like that.

    (P.S. That phrase doesn’t have a single Spanish word/related-word in it.)

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