In 2009, the United States Mint minted and issued six quarter-dollar
coins in honor of the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories:
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin
Islands and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
This program immediately followed the 50 State Quarters® Program, which ended in 2008.
Coin Specifications:
- Standard Weight = 5.670g
- Standard Diameter = 0.955 in (24.26mm)
- Thickness = 1.75 mm
- Edge = Reeded
- Composition = Cupro-Nickel Clad (8.33% Nickel, Balance Cu)
Click here to know more about D.C. and US Territories Quarters program.
District of Columbia
The District of Columbia quarter is the first of 2009 and the first in
the District of Columbia and U.S. Territories Quarters Program. The
District of Columbia, created in 1790, became the Nation’s capital on
December 1, 1800. The 10-square-mile site, originally part of Maryland
and Virginia, was chosen personally by President George Washington to
fulfill the need for a new Federal district that would not be part of
any state.
The District of Columbia quarter reverse features native son Duke
Ellington, the internationally renowned composer and musician, seated at
a grand piano.
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was born into a middle-class family in
Washington, D.C., in 1899, and started piano lessons at the age of
seven. He lived in Washington until 1923, when he moved to New York
City. He began performing professionally at the age of 17, and once he
arrived in New York, started playing in Broadway nightclubs and
eventually led his own band. Ellington made hundreds of recordings—some
with John Coltrane, Billy Strayhorn, Louis Armstrong and Ella
Fitzgerald—making him famous worldwide. Throughout his 50-year career,
he returned often to Washington to perform, frequently staying at the
Whitelaw Hotel located in his boyhood neighborhood in Washington.
Throughout his life, he received numerous awards and honors, including
multiple Grammy® awards and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969 in
honor of his ability to carry the message of freedom to all the Nations
of the world through his gift of music and understanding.
Click here to know more about Duke Ellington.
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Puerto Rico
The Puerto Rico quarter is the second in the 2009 District of Columbia
and U.S. Territories Quarters Program. Explorer Christopher Columbus
arrived at Puerto Rico (“rich port”) in 1493, and it soon became a
Spanish colony and important military outpost. Over the years, numerous
unsuccessful attempts were made by the French, Dutch and English to
conquer the island, but it remained an overseas province of Spain until
the Spanish-American War. Under the Treaty of Paris of 1898, it was
ceded to the United States, and its residents became American citizens
in 1917. On July 3, 1950, Congress passed a law authorizing Puerto Rico
to draft its own constitution, and it officially became a United States
commonwealth on July 25, 1952.
The reverse of the coin depicts one of the most characteristic elements of San Juan, Puerto Rico, is its
massive belt of walls of stone, built by the Spaniards in the early
16th century to protect the capital city from attacks from the sea. Of
particular interest on these walls, which symbolize Puerto Rican
strength and fortitude, are the sentry boxes, placed at strategic points
along the walls. The sentry box and the walls of San Juan represent
Puerto Rico’s rich history, geographical location and defensive role.
The Puerto Rico quarter features a historic sentry box and a hibiscus
flower.
Click here to know more about Puerto Rico.
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Guam
The Guam quarter is the third in the 2009 District of Columbia and U.S.
Territories Quarters Program. Initial Western contact with Guam occurred
when explorer Ferdinand Magellan reached the southernmost Mariana
Islands in 1521. From 1668 to 1815, it served as a way station for
Spanish Acapulco-to-Manila ships. Spanish rule of Guam came to an end
when American forces secured the island during the Spanish-American War.
During World War II, the Japanese seized Guam and occupied it for more
than two years, with American forces recapturing it in 1944. Under the
Organic Act of 1950, the people of Guam became American citizens and
established a local government.
The Guam quarter reverse design depicts the outline of the island, a
flying proa (a seagoing craft built by the Chamorro people), and a latte
stone (an architectural element used as the base of homes). The proa
represents the endurance, fortitude and discovery of the Chamorro
people. The vessel, made by expert carvers and sailed by master
navigators, is admired as a technical marvel. The latte speaks to a
historic icon that hails from the Micronesian area. Chamorro is one of
the official languages of Guam, and its usage is enjoying a renaissance
there and on the Mariana Islands.
Click here to know moew about Guam.
Click here to know more about 'Chamorro' language.
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American Samoa
The American Samoa quarter is the fourth in the 2009 District of
Columbia and U.S. Territories Quarters Program. American Samoa—known as
the heart of Polynesia—is a group of five islands and two coral atolls
in the South Pacific, approximately 2,300 miles southwest of Hawaii and
2,700 miles northeast of Australia. Contacts with Europeans began in the
early 1700s and intensified with the arrival of English missionaries
and traders in the 1830s. Under the Treaty of Berlin in 1899, the United
Kingdom and Germany gave the United States rights and claims over the
area, and it officially became a United States territory in 1929 when
Congress ratified deeds of cession dating back to 1900 and 1904.
The American Samoa quarter reverse design depicts the ava bowl
("tanoa"), whisk and staff in the foreground with a coconut tree on the
shore in the background and the inscriptions, AMERICAN SAMOA and SAMOA
MUAMUA LE ATUA, the motto of American Samoa, which means "Samoa, God is
First." The ava bowl is used to make the special ceremonial drink for
island chiefs and guests during important events. The ava ceremony is
considered the most significant traditional event in Samoan culture. The
whisk and staff symbolize the rank of the Samoan orator delivering
speeches during these gatherings. The ava bowl, whisk and staff also
appear on the Official Seal of American Samoa.
Click here to know more about American Samoa.
Click here to know more about Ava Ceremony.
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U.S. Virgin Islands
The U.S. Virgin Islands quarter is the fifth in the 2009 District of
Columbia and U.S. Territories Quarters Program. These islands, located
in the Caribbean Sea east of Puerto Rico, were explored by Christopher
Columbus in 1493. They were first inhabited by the Arawak, Taino and
later the Carib Indians, and colonized by Denmark beginning in 1666.
During the Napoleonic Wars, the islands were occupied by the English
from 1801 to 1802 and from 1807 to 1815. Originally named the Danish
West Indies, the United States purchased the three islands—St. Croix,
St. Thomas and St. John—along with approximately 50 islets, from Denmark
in 1917 for $25 million. Congress granted American citizenship to
residents of the U.S. Virgin Islands in 1927. Under the Revised Organic
Act of 1954, the U.S. Virgin Islands were provided a substantial amount
of self-government, including the creation of a central government with
distinct executive, legislative and judicial branches. Tourism is the
primary economic activity, accounting for most of its gross domestic
product and 70 percent of employment on the islands.
The U.S. Virgin Islands quarter reverse features an outline of the three
major islands, the Yellow Breast or Bananaquit, its official bird; the
Yellow Cedar or Yellow Elder, the official flower; and a Tyre Palm Tree.
Click here to know more about US Virgin Islands.
Click here to know more about Bananaquit.
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Northern Mariana Islands
The Northern Mariana Islands quarter is the sixth and final in the 2009
District of Columbia and U.S. Territories Quarters Program. A possession
of Spain until 1898, the islands were sold to Germany in 1899. The
islands were seized in 1914 by Japan, whose control of the islands was
officially recognized in 1921 by the League of Nations. American forces
occupied the Marianas during World War II, and in 1947 the group was
included in the U.S. Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Residents
approved separate status for the Northern Marianas as a U.S.
Commonwealth in 1975, and the covenant to establish the Commonwealth of
the Northern Mariana Islands was signed by President Gerald Ford the
next year.
The Northern Mariana Islands quarter reverse design represents the
wealth of the islands in its natural resources of land, air and sea.
Near the shore stands a large limestone latte, the supporting column of
ancient indigenous Chamorro structures. A canoe of the indigenous
Carolinians represents the people’s seafaring skills across vast
distances. Two white fairy tern birds fly in characteristic synchrony
overhead. A Carolinian mwar (head lei) composed of plumeria, langilang
(Ylang Ylang), angagha (peacock flower) and teibwo (Pacific Basil)
borders the bottom of the design. The mwar is symbolic of the virtues of
honor and respect.
Click here to know more about Northern Mariana Islands.
Click here to know more about White Fairy Tern birds.
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