Wednesday, February 27, 2008

New State Quarter

Have you been saving the state quarters? There's only 4 left to go for 2008 and then all 50 states will have a state quarter in circulation. There have been 5 minted each year since 1999. I have mine all displayed in the U.S. map folder and displayed on my dining room wall.


The newest quarter for 2008 is Oklahoma. The Spousal Unit got one yesterday and he got another one today and gave it to me. If you haven't seen it yet, here's what it looks like:

"Wow, is that a Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher?" I asked excitedly.

So, I googled "Oklahoma State Quarter" and found this really neat website that provides information on all the state quarters minted so far (and yes, it IS a scissor-tailed flycatcher).

In looking at all the quarters on my map, I found 8 more which featured birds.

Arkansas - Mallard
California - California Condor
Idaho - Peregrine Falcon
Louisiana - Brown Pelican
Maine - Seagulls
Minnesota - Common Loon
South Carolina - Carolina Wren
South Dakota - Ring-Necked Pheasant

It's been fun collecting these coins. Way back in 1999, it seemed like 9 years would take forever to fill this map, but the time has gone by pretty quickly and now there are only 4 spots left to fill.

So watch your change for a scissor-tailed flycatcher quarter coming to a convenience store near you!

17 comments:

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Hi Ruthie. My husband has been collecting the quarters. It is fun to find the new ones. I love the scissor-tailed flycatcher. I can't wait to see it.

Anonymous said...

I was collecting these quarters for a few years but fell behind! Also didn't have such a cool map like you have or I would have kept up!

Anonymous said...

I have my books almost filled, they are going to make some nice Christmas gifts this year. It has been fun collecting all those quarters. I started to collect the new Gold Presidential Dollars in books too. These special books were offered by our local bank. The quarters and dollars are all uncirculated offered by the bank.
Mom

Marsha said...

I never collected them but at the beginning would really take notice. I am going to have to start paying more attention once again...especially to see if I can spot all the bird ones.

Meggie said...

I most certainly will be on the lookout for the new Oklahoma quarter. I'm still missing Utah from last year. I've never been a coin collector before but those 9 years did indeed go fast.

Anonymous said...

Neat display! And it's great to see the birds represented.

barefoot gardener said...

I don't have the cool map, I just have the book. I can't wait to get the new one, it is beautiful! Thanks for sharing that fab pic.

Larry said...

That's pretty cool Ruth-I used to collect coins.-My Grandmother who was born in the 1800's would save cans of change for me and I would sift through them as a kid.-She always seemed to have a tone of those war years steel pennies.-I haven't collected the state quarters but I just may.-It is interesting that so many birds are featured but I'm not saying that collecting these quarters is "for the birds."

Cathy said...

That map is soooo cool!

RuthieJ said...

Hi Lisa,
When I used to work at WBU, the new quarters would appear when we got change from the bank, so it was easy for me to swap an old quarter for a new one. Now I have to work a little harder at it!

Hi Mon@rch
I can get you a map if you want one--an old school friend has a coin shop here in town and he'll give me a deal, I'm sure!

Hi Mom,
I got one of those dollar books from you, but I'm already missing Thomas Jefferson! I'll have to get it out and try to be more faithful about filling that book up too.

Hi Marsha,
I didn't realize there were that many quarters featuring birds until I looked a little closer. It's neat to see that birds play an important role for many Americans.

Hi Meggie,
I've been getting quite a few Utahs lately.... It commemorates the Transcontinental Railroad with a big railroad spike right in the middle. A very neat coin...hope you get one soon!

Thanks April. It's been enjoyable collecting these coins over the years and watching out for the new ones.

Hi Barefoot,
If you're ever down Rochester way, stop over at JD Coins in Miracle Mile and tell Joel that Ruthie Johnson sent you in for a quarter map....I bet he'll give you a good deal too!

Hi Larry,
Those WWII steel pennies were neat-my dad has some of those.
I had some neat coins from my Grandma and an elderly neighbor, but have misplaced them over the years. I still have a small collection of wheat pennies and a Mercury dime that I wear as a necklace.

Thanks Cathy! I like it because you can see how your collection is growing--it's much easier to forget about it when it's stuck in a drawer or bookshelf.

Mary said...

Ruthie,

You and my spousal unit would get along wonderfully. He loves his coins. I only use them to pay for candy bars.

TR at "The Far Away Nearby" on my blogroll is an Oklahoman who posted about the same coin a few weeks ago.

It IS very pretty!

RuthieJ said...

Hi Mare,
I saw my first scissor-tailed flycatcher outside the window of the Shreveport, LA airport when my brother was stationed there in the Air Force about 20 years ago. I'll never forget it and that bird has always held a special fascination for me. I was just thrilled to see it on a quarter.
P.S. Thanks for the tip about TR's blog....I'll have to check it out.

Mary C said...

Wow! Only 4 more to go!? Where has the time gone? I thought the same thing back in '99 - that it would seem to take forever to collect all 50 of them.

Jayne said...

I've got all the quarters too Ruthie and have enjoyed collecting them. I won't go to the bank to get them. Nope, they have to just be given to me and then I put them in a small jar. I have not done anything like the map... cool idea! Love that Oklahoma flycatcher!!

me ann my camera said...

Those quarters look very interesting and I would love to find the ones featuring birds! Maybe I can find some the next time I do some over the border shopping in Calais, Maine.

KGMom said...

When I first saw the Oklahoma coin, I loved it. I didn't realize so many states used birds--I do not collect the quarters, but in my last place of full time work, my secretary did. She wanted two of each quarter--for her two sons. So I was always on the lookout for the new ones as they came out. I thought my state--PA--was somewhat uninspired in our "art" choice. Oh, well--we can't all have scissortail flycatchers.

RuthieJ said...

Hi Mary,
It's been fun collecting those quarters, hasn't it? The years have gone by pretty quickly though.

Hi Jayne,
I think I had to get only a few at the coin store when I realized there were holes on the map that were a few years old and I didn't think they'd come to me in change. I found out at the coin store that some of the "true" collectors will only choose uncirculated from a particular mint, so I guess I'm not a "true" numismatist!

Hi M&MC,
I saw a neat gold coin from Canada last summer--with a loon on it. We occasionally see some Canadian coins in our change here.

Hi Donna,
I thought it was interesting to see how many states had birds when I finally took the time to look at it.
Even though Pennsylvania doesn't have a bird, the words "Virtue, Liberty, Independence" are a good reflection on the history of your state.