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Billions of Quarters

Edition #89: Spring 2000

Those new "state" quarters we're all using will be minted in the billions, 750 million of each state's design. That adds up to as many as 37.5 billion quarters to be circulated, requiring no less than 214,000 tons of copper based on a weight of 5.67 grams for each quarter. The coins are being released over 10 years in the order in which the 50 states joined the union, with the "Hawaii" quarter scheduled to be minted in the year 2008.

While the state quarters are released, minting of the predecessor "Eagle" coin is suspended. Like the Eagle quarter, the state quarters are 91.67% copper and 8.33% nickel and, of course, they match the electromagnetic signature of the prior coin so that they can be accepted in vending machines.

The designs for the new quarters were initiated by the governors of each state. Drawings of the designs are then reviewed by the Mint, the Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory Committee and the Fine Arts Commission. After they are approved by the Secretary of the Treasury, they are forwarded to the governors for final selection.

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