State Quarters - A Collecting Mania

Starting your coin collecting hobby with the State Quarters series is a great place to start if you are unsure where to begin collecting. What exactly is the State Quarters series? In the late 1990's the Fifty State Quarter Program was enacted; the program commenced in 1997 and has continued through the present time. It is a very popular program, and the State Quarters series is the most famous series in the history of the US Mint.

In 1998, five state quarters were released and this schedule continued for a period of ten years, so it would end this year. Every 10 weeks, a quarter is again released. The program also devised a new and unique method of issuing coins - the state quarters were issued based on the year they became part of the US. The state quarters are minted and you can see George Washington's image at the obverse or front side while on the reverse or back side, you will find a noteworthy design about the specific state.

The program will end this year (2008) and after that, the coins will again be designed normally, with the reverse side having an eagle design.

The last coins in the series will be minted this year so you can still collect them as they appear. But once the minting run is over they will be harder and harder to find, especially those that are considered in mint condition. Commemorative state quarters were minted in very high numbers so you can still easily find them in circulated condition making them an inexpensive way to start coin collecting, compared to old coins (http://www.us-rare-coins.net/) which are still legal tender but very hard to find in circulation.

So, what makes these minted coins different? Every state gets an opportunity to select an original design which is of immense relevance to it and the present governor of the state will decide on the procedure of selection. Some of the states name a particular design committee while other states organize contests among the locals who can come up with a substantial and original design. Certain states post different designs of thee coin in their official website and the locals just place votes on the Internet and the coin that secure the maximum number of votes win.

Collectors have taken many commemorative state quarters out of circulation, and they are nearly at the end of their run. Since they will never be minted again, they will naturally increase in value over the years. Already some of the older ones are fetching one dollar or more. Another lucrative field of coin collecting involves finding coins with minting errors. These can go for $500.

The plan of State Quarters has without a doubt gained extraordinary acceptance in the United States. Unique coin holders for the series are in demand and coin collectors can buy them so that they can preserve their collections in a nice holder.

Both youngsters and elderly can now begin collecting coins through the State Quarters. If you wish, you can ask at your local bank and find out if the coins are still available. But you should show some urgency as the plan concludes at the end of this calendar year.

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