State Quarters

[mishalak]

With more than half the states done I think it is time to talk about the state quarters program. It is one of those 3am ideas; something that sounds totally brilliant when sleep deprived in the middle of the night and turns out less than fantastic in execution. The downfall should have been obvious (in retrospect). You see the states choose the design they want and invariably when opened up to the general public and committees of people who don't have any idea about art they pick something that sounds good and looks terrible.

It is the same reason that the state flags are so often indistinguishable from each other. They put so much stuff on their seal that everything on it is reduced to undistinguishable tiny blobs when put on a flag. I can just see some battlefield with state flags on it.

"Which side is that?"

"One of the states with its seal on a blue flag."

"Oh well that really narrows it down."

The worst so far, and this was a hard choice, was the Louisiana Quarter with an outline of the state, the Louisiana Purchase, a pelican, AND a trumpet. On an actual quarter it looks totally naff, even worse than it does on the US Mint's page. It is rather like trying to take a picture with too much stuff in the frame.

The rest at the bottom of the pack are Florida (a space shuttle, gallon, AND palm trees), Illinois (I can't even tell who's that supposed to be on a state outline probably Lincoln), Ohio (state outline again, kiss of death that is, with biplane and astronaut), New York (state outline again and the Statue of Liberty does not look good at that size), Pennsylvania (state outline and another liberty), and South Carolina (with state outline, state bird, state flower, AND state tree).

The best? Connecticut. It is the most memorable and very handsome. The only other up there that comes close to being as pretty is Mississippi with its spray of magnolias. States still working on theirs take note! They both put ONE thing on their quarter and the subject fills the space on the quarter.

Comments

[defconqueso.livejournal.com]

Connecticut is my favorite too! Simple and picturesque. A close second in my book is Vermont (http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/50sq_program/states/index.cfm?state=vt) -- it must be that some are just attracted to coinage that features trees...?

Arkansas (http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/50sq_program/states/index.cfm?state=ar)' design I like too, despite the crowded images. That blasted gem sticks out. Arkansas quarters look their best brand new.

[mishalak.livejournal.com]

It's not as bad as it could be... But I find Arkansas' forgetable. Part of that great middle of the pack that isn't too bad, but isn't much good either.

[almeda.livejournal.com]

Connecticut's been my fave for a very long time. Maine is pretty, I think, and I almost want to like Missouri (its too-many-things are at least arranged to almost be a scene, instead of randomly tossed on each other). My liking for Delaware is probably entirely due to having played the horse-and-rider in Monopoly my whole childhood. :->

However, for goofy commemorative money decided upon by committee, I think this (http://www.cnw.ca/images/rtphotos/Photo-3501.jpg) Canadian quarter takes the cake. It's a big cartoon Bullwinkle. Practically. Designed by an 11-year-old boy.

[fairmer.livejournal.com]

North Carolina's, with just the biplane, is pretty spiff. Hates the Michigan one, so it's good that *one* of my states got it right.

[mishalak.livejournal.com]

I agree with you on NC. Not bad, but I have not seen many of them.

state flags

[nancylebov.livejournal.com]

State flags can go wrong in ways other than being indistinguishable. I vote for the flag of Maryland (http://www.50states.com/flag/mdflag.htm) as one of the most godawful flags in the history of flagdom.

Re: state flags

[almeda.livejournal.com]

Well ... at least it's battlefield-distinguishable from most out there. Though an SCA herald would smack you with a ded fish for trying to register it.

Re: state flags

[mishalak.livejournal.com]

I sort of like it. It is pretty busy, okay too busy with all those shapes, but better painful than boring.

Re: state flags

[mishalak.livejournal.com]

Honestly I think that it is above average as far as being atractive.

[jcfiala.livejournal.com]

I like Florida's quarter. It's the only one (so far) with a spaceship on it.

[mishalak.livejournal.com]

That is exactly the reasoning that gets the quarters in to trouble. It has a spaceship on it, but it looks awful. I'll bet that people give the same reason for liking Ohio with John Glenn and the Write Flyer on it.

[feonixrift.livejournal.com]

That reminds me... Why isn't heraldry used more often in scifi spaceship stuff? I mean, grand spaceship approaches, of approximately the same design since the people are the same race and moderately technologically related (consider russian vs. american airplanes), how you gonna tell who it is? The big garish flag painted on the front, of course!

[mishalak.livejournal.com]

For the same reasons that big flags are not painted on navy ships. There are likely to be other considerations. Like painting the ship with something that make the ship hard to detect. Ships that are intended to hide are likely to look like asteroids or have actual asteroids put over them.