A Musing: State Quarters

"I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker" (qaaaaa) 09/27/2018 at 09:20 • Filed to: None

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State quarters were first circulated in 1997. When I was maybe 5, I remember collecting state quarters was pretty popular- even my older brother was into it. He had a big cardboard map of the US with circles cut into it on each state where you would put the state’s quarter. I also remember getting a state quarter to be kind of a novelty, since they were just starting to hit circulation and lots of people were holding onto them because they were kind of cool. Fast forward to 2018. I had ten quarters in my wallet this morning. Of those, seven were state quarters. They’ve become so commonplace that it’s more rare to find a non-state quarter.

I also think the Presidential $1 coins are way cooler. They have words written on the outside of them! Skimming the wikipedia page for the Presidential $1 coin, it seems that as of 2011, there were $1.4 billion in uncirculated coins, and likely $2 billion as of 2016. This was a part of the plan (that was never implemented) to pull the $1 bill from circulation (aside- they should totally do this. $1 bills are disgusting and smell bad, since they’re made of a fabric that holds smells and are the primary currency).

Tl;dr- state quarters are cool, used to be kind of rare, now more common.

punkgoose17 > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 09/27/2018 at 09:25

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They need to make vending machines accept $1 coins and $2 bills. They just need to announce a date and stick to it. I don’t like $1 bills either.

Mini Guy- Now has a 4Runner > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 09/27/2018 at 09:25

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Every time i find an Indiana coin, i try to keep it for as long as possible because racecar yo

InFierority Complex > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 09/27/2018 at 09:25

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It seems they moved on to National Park awhile ago, which is cool. I got excited to find an old Bicentennial quarter just the other week

E90M3 > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 09/27/2018 at 09:25

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State quarters were first circulated in 1997. 1999

Aremmes > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 09/27/2018 at 09:25

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Nah, they were never rare. Even at the beginning I would get them as change every other time. Nowadays they outnumber eagle quarters. Bicentennial quarters, though, now those are rare, but still not as rare as Sacajawea and Susan B. Anthony dollar coins, which are still more abundant than JFK half dollars.

Ash78, voting early and often > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 09/27/2018 at 09:27

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I still hang onto Bicentennials, but never really got into state quarters.

I remember a girl I worked with around 2000, when Alabama was issued with Helen Keller on it and she was like “Great, all the great things that have come out of our state and we choose the blind and deaf lady.”

Harshest thing I’ve ever laughed at.

Ash78, voting early and often > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 09/27/2018 at 09:29

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I didn’t even know about the Presidential dollars...I just remember how big a push our country made to get Sacajawea on the dollar coin, then they circulated them through Walmart (no kidding) figuring it would be more effective than just putting them into banks. But everyone just collected them instead.

InFierority Complex > punkgoose17 09/27/2018 at 09:33

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It’s kinda weird because the only place I’ve ever received a $1 coin is change  from vending machines.

MM54 > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 09/27/2018 at 09:36

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I think everybody in the country was collecting these the first couple years, by the time they got to alaska and hawaii I have no idea if anyone was still keeping up or not. At this point it’s definitely less common to find a ‘normal’ eagle-having quarter than one of the states (or now national parks I think they’re on).

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Mini Guy- Now has a 4Runner 09/27/2018 at 09:42

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Fun fact: the Indiana state quarter is 5% lighter than the average quarter, because racecar.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Aremmes 09/27/2018 at 09:43

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Bicentennials are so freaking cool.

The Ghost of Oppo > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 09/27/2018 at 09:54

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Didn’t they start a second cycle of state quarters with different images ?

facw > Aremmes 09/27/2018 at 09:55

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In the early 2000s I got so many Sacahawea dollars because the stamp vending machine at my post office and the Baltimore light rail ticket machines spat them out as change. Totally useless...

McMike > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 09/27/2018 at 09:57

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I was working retail when they came out, and god were they ever annoying. Sure, it was cool to see what each state design was, but some of my regular customers were always asking me “Do you have any Georgias (or whatever state they were missing for the map they were working on with their grandchild) yet??” like it was a game of go fish.

I was pretty annoying because who has time to dig through a drawer to get you a specific quarter. There are people behind you gramps, take your 48 cents and move along.

However, I was at the bank 4-5 times a week. I kept telling myself I should snatch a un circulated roll every time a new one was released.
Even if the collection ended up being a waste of time it was still worth $500.

Brickman > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 09/27/2018 at 09:58

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If they keep getting used and worn out, the new ones might be worth 0.28 cents :P

Nothing > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 09/27/2018 at 09:58

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Fun fact, the popularity of the state quarters was overestimated. The same with this little cardboard holders. At one point, I know there was at least $40 million in uncirculated state quarters sitting in a vault.

For a while, it was a rule at government locations that all change was to be given in the presidential dollar coins. No paper $1 bills, but that only lasted a year or so.

facw > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 09/27/2018 at 09:59

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I’m in favor of getting rid of the penny and nickle (and probably the dime) which inflation have made worthless (the half-penny was worth ~ $0.13 in today’s money when it was pulled) , but I’d rather not get rid of the $1 (or $2) dollar bill. There are advantages to coins, but they are pretty inconvenient compared to bills.

gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 09/27/2018 at 10:00

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I collected state quarters for a while, and sorta still do, but just don’t reall carry coin any more. Or even cash. Carrying plastic may not be lighter in every instance, but it’s a more consistent weight and easier to tune.. . Umm... What were we talking about? Oh. Yeah. State quarters. I think I’ve got roughly half the states so far. Some seem more common than others. But yeah, it’s kinda surprising how common they are considering strictly speaking they’re not legal tender here.

And yes, you should totally do away with dollar bills and go with dollar coins. We figured that one out over 30 years ago. And so many coins were minted in ‘87 to replace dollar bills that it’s still completely common to find them. Around 2012 they altered the metallurgy of the coins which reduced the weight by quite a bit, meaning vending machines needed recalibrated, and many still haven’t been. It’s just that easy to find older loonies still. They’re just a ton more durable than paper. Plus they don’t take up huge amounts of space  in your bill fold like dollar bills do, which limits the amount of space for bills that actually mean something. Dollar bills are the worst. 

ttyymmnn > Ash78, voting early and often 09/27/2018 at 10:02

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I still remember the first time I saw a Bicentennial quarter. I remember where I was, and I remember holding it. To this day, I hoard every one that I come across. Those, and quarters from my birth year. 

Mini Guy- Now has a 4Runner > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 09/27/2018 at 10:04

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weight reduction yo

InFierority Complex > The Ghost of Oppo 09/27/2018 at 10:40

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Kind of, t hey’re onto National Parks now. Looks like they’re limiting it to one Park per state, though.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > punkgoose17 09/27/2018 at 10:42

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I thought there was a push for this when the Sacag awea  coins came out, but it didn’t get much traction.

Urambo Tauro > InFierority Complex 09/27/2018 at 11:06

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The local salvage scrap yard pays out in $1 coins and $2 bills all th e time.  

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > McMike 09/27/2018 at 11:26

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I lived in places they seemed to ship Georgias. I swear one in five of them were.

I don’t really use cash, so change barely ever  ends up in my hands anymore.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > InFierority Complex 09/27/2018 at 11:32

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That’s unfair. How can a couple western states have a battle over it if they can only do one? Also, who cares about that single building in some random city in NE that is a “national park”?

McMike > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 09/27/2018 at 11:41

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I just picked “ Georgia” because I remember it being one of the early ones.  I lost interest after the 10th state or so. 

Urambo Tauro > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 09/27/2018 at 11:57

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I got myself wrapped up in collecting this novelty, even going as far as to collect sets from the different M ints. I was looking forward to having a complete set, but when they kept going after having finished all 50 states, I keep collecting the new designs out of habit. I t’s not as fun as it used to be.