25 cents

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Washington, D.C. and U.S. Territories reverses quarters

D.C. and U.S. Territories a one-year program

By Beth Deisher
COIN WORLD Staff

Soon after the 50 States quarter dollar program was launched, Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., began her quest for recognition of the District of Columbia and the five U.S. territories on the reverse of the circulating Washington quarter dollar. She introduced legislation five times, gaining passage in the House of Representatives. However, her initiatives were blocked in the U.S. Senate because the legislation was viewed by opponents as a backdoor attempt to gain statehood for the federal district.

Rep. Michael Castle, R-Del., who was the chief sponsor of the legislation that created the 50 State quarters program, declared his support for quarter dollars honoring the district and the territories soon after the launch of the State quarters program and joined Norton in working to obtain its passage. They achieved success at the close of the 110th Congress by attaching the bill to the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008 (PL 110-147) signed into law Dec. 21, 2007, some 10 years after the approval of the 50 States quarters law.

Six quarter dollars were issued during 2009 with reverses honoring the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands. They were issued in equal sequential intervals throughout the year, with the District of Columbia being first on Jan. 26.

John Flanagan's obverse design of George Washington modified by William Cousins (unchanged from the 50 State quarters obverse) appears on each. The reverses honor the District of Columbia and the territories.

The authorizing laws required the secretary of the Treasury to approve each reverse design after consulting with the chief executive of the District of Columbia or the territory being honored and the Commission of Fine Arts, after review by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee.

No mintage goals were announced, but the U.S. Mint issued a statement saying that the 2009 quarters would be "issued for circulation in quantities to meet the needs of the United States – both for commerce and for collectors."

Final mintages were paltry when compared to the output of any of the 50 State quarter dollars issued from 1999 through 2008. Total production of 2009 quarter dollars reached 636.2 million coins, compared to the 2,438,200,000 State quarter dollars that were struck for 2008. Two factors were cited as impacting the mintages: the recession, which historically has reduced the need for new coinage, and the fact that the Federal Reserve Bank made no provisions for collectors or the general public to obtain the 2009 quarters at their local banks.

The authorizing law provided for the coins to be struck for commerce, Uncirculated and Proof versions, as well as a 90 percent silver version and they were included in the U.S. Mint’s collector products.

Washington, D.C. and U.S. Territories quarter dollars
Dates of authorization:	April 2, 1792; July 23, 1965; Oct. 18, 1973, Dec. 1, 1997, Dec. 21, 2007
Date of issue:	2009
Designers:	(Original obverse) John Flanagan (District of Columbia reverse) Joel Iskowitz (Commonwealth of Puerto Rico reverse) Joseph Menna (Guam reverse) David Westwood (American Samoa reverse) Stephen Clark (U.S. Virgin Islands reverse) Joseph Menna (Northern Mariana Islands reverse) Richard Masters
Engravers:	(Modified obverse) William Cousins (District of Columbia reverse) Don Everhart (Commonwealth of Puerto Rico reverse) Joseph Menna (Guam reverse) Jim Licaretz (American Samoa reverse) Charles Vickers (U.S. Virgin Islands reverse) Joseph Menna (Northern Mariana Islands reverse) Phebe Hemphill
Diameter:	24.26 mm/0.96 inch
Weight:	5.67 grams/0.18 ounce
Weight of pure silver:	(Proofs only): 5.63 grams/0.18 ounce
Metallic content:	75% copper, 25% nickel clad to pure copper core (Proofs only): 90% silver, 10% copper
Edge:	Reeded
Mint mark:	Obverse right of Washington's ponytail