What is the Design Process for State Quarters?

Question: What is the Design Process for State Quarters?

Answer: Designing coins for the American people isn't just a matter of having an artist do up some designs he likes and then seeing if the Mint Director likes them enough to coin them. All U.S. coins begin with legislation passed by Congress that outlines what the coins should look like, the denominations they should bear, and what metal they can be struck from. Then, the formal design process begins, which involves the creation of design narratives, artist renderings, historical graphic and design verification, and then the feedback process from the interested parties and coinage committees. Finally, the Secretary of the Treasury has the ultimate say on what gets coined.

Here is an outline of the coin design process to create a Statehood Quarter:

1. The U.S. Mint contacts the state's governor to establish a liaison and communication process.



2. The state arrives at 3 to 5 final concepts, to be given to the Mint in narrative form.



3. The Mint invites its artists to create design artwork depicting the narratives.



4. The artists renderings are sent to the state for tweaking, which includes a review for historical accuracy and appropriateness for the state. This process is a give-and-take that will produce 3 to 5 final design candidates.



5. The final group of design candidates are reviewed by the two coinage commissions that review all potential U.S. coinage: the Citizen's Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC) and the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA.) The commissions make suggestions regarding the designs, and nominate a design for actual coining. Their suggestions are advisory only, and non-binding.



6. The U.S. Mint provides the group of final designs, along with the commission suggestions, to the Secretary of the Treasury for review and approval.



7. The designs approved by the Secretary are returned to the state for the final decision. The Secretary, who by law has the final authority about which designs actually end up being coined, can veto a design at this point (although inappropriate designs have been virtually eliminated by this point, usually at the narrative stage.)



8. The state decides which design will be struck as their State Quarter. The states are allowed to determine this final design via any method they choose, which could include public voting, state committee consensus, or merely the state governor's favorite artwork.



9. The U.S. Mint notifies the Secretary of the Treasury regarding which design the state has chosen, and the Secretary signs off on it.

In the past, particularly with regard to the Statehood Quarters Program, the Mint has been criticized for not allowing enough general citizens to have a voice in the coin design process. Many states wanted artists from their own population to design their state's coin. However, coin design involves many technical aspects that most people aren't aware of (one of the simplest being considerations like whether the metal flow on the obverse side of the coin's high points will impede metal flow into the high points of the reverse design. You have to be careful not to have two high points across from each other on opposite sides of the coin unless you are certain your coin presses can strike them up fully during all-out production cycles.)

Since coin design isn't as simple as just engraving a circle of metal, but also keeping in mind that Americans would like to see a wider variety of coin designs and a wider spectrum of artists creating them, the U.S. Mint has implemented its Artistic Infusion Program (AIP). The AIP has periodic open calls where anybody can apply, although the competition is very tough, and being selected doesn't guarantee that you'll ever be able to design a coin. It just means you're in the pool of artists who have a shot at it!