We Have a Quarter!

Governor Bill Owens has spoken, and Colorado has its new quarter!

Here's the full press release on the new quarter.

Who says the governor isn't a powerful position? Owens just created money. That's serious juice.

Comments

[hypowren]

That's the most generic design out of all of the possible choices.

[galo]

That's the point. Apparently he didn't want to single out any specific spot, preferring to represent the state more generally.

[Phoenix Rising]

How many people actually know what peak that is, anyway? (And, yes, it is actually an image of a specific 14'er...)

I didn't dislike the design (it was better than the 10th Mtn and Big C designs), but you're right, it's pretty generic to most people - even most Coloradoans.

[Ter Ducken]

I agree. I didn't really like any of the designs that he had to choose from. Still, this is better than some states. Ohio and Mississippi particularly suck. Here's a good link.

New Quarters

[peterco]

At least it isn't a montage...

Other states actually used specific things - Yosemite, Old Man on the Mountain, Crater Lake. That is some imagined mountain, right? I wish they would have done Mount of the Holy Cross, just to piss people off. Could you sue a quarter over separation of church and state?

[Jenn]

The sheer mechanics of Arkansas's montage are mind-boggling.

[Phoenix Rising]

No, as I stated, it's a real 14'er: Crestone Peak. But how many people can identify Crestone Peak? We're not talking Long's or Pike's; this is a relatively unknown peak for a 14'er, and a relatively uncommon viewpoint. It might as well have been generic.

If it weren't for the nasty-looking 'C', the Maroon Bells image was my favorite, along with the Mesa Verde montage. But I'll take this one as at least being inoffensive.

[Phoenix Rising]

Using the Mt. of the Holy Cross would have been an interesting choice if they were going fishing for a challenge. Fortunately, Owens stayed away from making political points with the quarter...

[brio]

Phoenix-
What view is it? Granted, its been several years I went up the neighboring Ellingwood Arete, but that profile doesn't look familiar at all.

[Alfalfa]

Think of it as one big, generic advertisement for our state's number one industry: tourism. While some states used the quarter to define themselves (my favorites being the corn/cow/cheese quarter of Wisconsin and the race car on Indiana's quarter), we use ours to draw tourists here to spend money and give jobs to ski bums.

[Ter Ducken]

At least "all of Colorado" isn't burning on the quarter.

[Phoenix Rising]

brio - I only figured it out from a climber's photo from a neighboring peak. That view wasn't the same as the view on the quarter, either, but the features were right on, including the spires just to the left and along the ridge to the right. I think it might be an arial shot; the foreground is faked in on the quarter design.

Try visualizing the peak as it would be seen to the right of this shot at Steve Hoffmeyer's site.

[Phoenix Rising]

Oops - take it back; the view might actually be more ground-level, and includes the ridgeline on the bottom right of Steve's photo. It can't be too ground-level, though, or I think that ridge would hide the right side...

[peterco]

I guess they were inspired from Crestone, because I still don't see a match. Oh well, it isn't the end of the world.

But if it is Crestone, isn't that near the sand dunes NP? But I guess the sand dunes would be a 'bad image' to portray, even though that look is awesome.

[brio]

Thanks, Phoenix - at least it looks sort of like an actual Colorado mountain. Peterco - yes, what's shown looks like Crestone from roughly the north-east, whereas the dunes are more south-west from the Crestones (very rough geography). Regardless, the view of the Sangre de Cristo's above the dunes is both fantastic and readily identifiable as something unique to Colorado (as opposed to a relatively generic mountain view that could as easily be in Montana, for example). It would've made an excellent quarter. Oh well. That said, it pretty much had to be a mountain on the quarter; my only real complaint is choosing "colorful Colorado" as a slogan on something that will have no colors.

[Phoenix Rising]

Well, the "Colorful Colorado" signs welcoming visitors to the state aren't exactly a riot of colors themselves, so it's not inventing anything new. ;^)

[Praire Flower]

BRANDED AS LOSERS

Poor old Colorado. No brand to call its own. Even a generic mountain on a quarter won't conjur up the secret to Colorado's allure that, well, I guess will have to remain a secret to even Coloradoans.
Denver's generic skyline logo shouts of the same mundane anonymity. Such a waste. Will any political leader ever figure out how to sell the city and state?

[peterco]

The vantage point is probably my reason for not recoginizing it completely. I usually see the southern side of the range because I love the sand dunes and the mountains in the same vantage point.

Sadly, you can't do colorful on a quarter., otherwise, Wisconsin would look like Cheddar cheese. My most vivid memory from a hike is of the east face of Longs Peak looking purple at sunrise. I was more excited because I had finally seen "the purple mountains majesty." No picture will actually compare to what I saw, because the frame and detail exceed a camera's abilities.

[Mountain Man]

The mountain looks stupid. I wouldn't want to ski it. I wouldn't even think of skiing in Colorado with a sucky mountain like that. I would wonder why everyone wants to come here to ski.

Maroon Bells was better, even with that stupid looking giant C. Maybe the mint will make the quarter suck less, since they have the final say on the design.

[galo]

Try this angle of Crestone:

http://home.att.net/~statcy.bender/photos/Crestone_Needle_n_Peak.jpg

[craig]

the quarter design is most certainly Longs Peak with Pagoda Mountain on the right, Keyboard of the Winds in between.

proof:
http://www.summitpost.org/mountains/photo_link.pl/p/photo_id__163181__object_id__2050__type__mountain__mountain_id__2050__route_id____user_id____order_by____limit__

[Michael David Mills]

For the State Quarter Design for The 38th State and Quarter that of Beautiful Colorado of that of Sunrays,with Sagebruch and also Three Mustang Horses being minted in Denver for the U.S.Mint
is that where the Ceremony also.

I've atteneded three Ceremony's Ohio Michigan West Virginia.And I also designed the Michigan Quarter.

Thank You

[Michael David Mills]

From Following Nebraska's State Quarter U.S.Mint Ceremonys on April 7th,2006,Is it At the Capital in Denver that the State Quarter Is Being Released,and is it from Nebraska's April 7th June 16th,2006 when Colorado's is released.

Thank You
[email protected]

[Coder]

Yes, the mountain depicted on the quarter is definitely a view of Longs Peak from the west. Craig is right. Check out this link:

http://www.grisda.org/colorado/images/03-06-26%20---%201069%20Forest%20Canyon%20to%20Longs%20Peak.JPG