District of Columbia Quarter

District of Columbia Quarter Proof- click on image to enlarge (at this time, only proof image is available)

General Coin Information

The District of Columbia Quarter is the first in a series of coins meant to honor the District of Columbia and the five United States territories, Guam, American Samoa, U.S. Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands.

10-square-miles of land, originally part of Maryland and Virginia, was set aside in 1790 to become part of a new "Federal City". This area, dictated by Article One of the Constitution of the United States, was designed to be under the control of the federal government, and not of any state. It became the Nation's capital on December 1, 1800.

In the coin honoring the capital, Duke Ellington, a native of D.C., is featured. Born in 1899, Ellington started piano lessons at age 7. This led to a life-long career as a world-renowned musician and composer. His works were so appreciated by the industry that he received 13 Grammy Awards. Consistently striving to improve his music, his attitude can be summed up with his quote:

"My attitude is never to be satisfied, never enough, never."

The other quarters available in this series are the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico quarter, the Guam quarter, the American Samoa quarter, the U.S. Virgin Islands quarter and the Northern Mariana Islands quarter. All will be released throughout 2009 in quantities to meet demand.

Obverse Design

Designed by William Cousins, based on the original design by John Flanagan, a portrait of George Washington is circled with the words "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" and "QUARTER DOLLAR". Also shown is "LIBERTY", "IN GOD WE TRUST" and the mintmark.

Reverse Design

Joel Iskowitz designed the reverse and it was sculpted by Don Everhart. It features a seated image of Duke Ellington in front of a grand piano. "DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, "E PLURIBUS UNUM", "2009" and "JUSTICE FOR ALL", which is the motto of Washington D.C., are also on the reverse.