It's hard to believe that it's been 11 years since I wrote a column about the first coin in the 50 state quarters series. Back then, there was understandable skepticism about the success of the decade-long issuance of new coins.
After all, we're arguably one of the most intractable countries when it comes to changing designs on coins. We haven't changed the basic Lincoln penny design in 100 years. But since that first quarter, more than 100 million people have collected them.
The final coin of the 50 state quarters issued this month ago honors Hawaii, the last state admitted to the Union. Given today's education system (pay close attention to "Jaywalking" on "The Tonight Show," and you'll understand), many may not know Hawaii is our 50th state.
For its coin, the state wisely opted to show Hawaiian monarch King Kamehameha surveying the eight islands along with the State motto, "Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono," meaning, "The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness."
The word "Aloha" doesn't appear on the coin, but perhaps it should have, considering that in addition to meaning "hello" it's also used for "goodbye." With this, the last state coin being issued, that would have been most fitting.
The new state quarter is available at banks and will soon be circulating in retail registers. They can also be ordered directly from the U.S. Mint in rolls and bags.
For those longing for the series to continue, there is a ray of hope. After the District of Columbia complained that it had been left out of the series, legislators agreed to issue more quarters in 2009 to honor D.C. as well the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. So there's more to come.
Peter Rexford writes for Creators Syndicate. Contact him at P.O. Box 50377, St. Louis, MO 63105.
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