Official Arizona quarter exhibit rolls into Florence

Minted just this year, the Arizona state quarter entered circulation after a debut ceremony at the State Capitol in June. It is the 48th quarter to enter circulation as official U.S. currency as part of the 50 State Quarters® Program.

An exhibit featuring the 50 State Quarters, Arizona’s quarter and educational information about how the coins are made will be on loan to the Pinal County Treasurer, Dodie Doolittle from September 30 to October 30.

There will be a special reception for the public with county, city and town officials on Wednesday, Oct. 8, from 1 to 4 p.m. Visitors to the Treasurer’s office at 31 North Pinal Street, Building E, will be able to view the exhibit in the lobby from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.

“We are so grateful that we could bring this exhibit to Pinal County,” Treasurer Doolittle said. “We are hoping that school children, coin collectors and history buffs will have a chance to stop by our office to enjoy the exhibit.”

Fittingly, the Arizona quarter features a banner declaring Arizona the Grand Canyon State with a depiction of the canyon, along with a Saguaro cactus and a variety of other native plants. The final design was selected from more than 4,200 possible design descriptions reviewed by the Governor’s Arizona Quarter Commission. The Commission narrowed the ideas down to five finalists and submitted the descriptions to the U.S. Mint for consideration.

The Mint then had its engravers and sculptors create sample renderings that Governor Janet Napolitano submitted for a statewide online vote. In May 2007, Governor Napolitano announced that voters in the online poll had selected the “Grand Canyon with Saguaro Cactus” design.

The traveling exhibit is made possible by Wells Fargo Bank, the Governor’s Office and the Arizona Capitol Museum, a division of the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records.

Submitted photo