Ohio 50 State Quarter
50 State Quarter of Ohio
Designed by Donna Weaver
Released March 18, 2002
Ohio is a midwestern state stretching from Appalachian Country in the south to Lake Erie in the north. Ohio became the first state west of the Alleghenies on March 1, 1803 (and the first under the Northwest Ordinance) on March 1, 1803. Ohio was part of the Northwest Territory until statehood. Ohioans are also known as "Buckeyes."
Mintage: 632,032,000
The Ohio quarter, is the second quarter of 2002 and seventeenth in the series. The 50 State Quarter of Ohio was released on March 18, 2002, featuring an early aircraft and an astronaut, superimposed on the outline of the state, honoring Ohio's contributions to the history of aviation. Astronauts Neil Armstrong and John Glenn were both born in Ohio, as was Orville Wright, co-inventor of the airplane. On March 1, 2002 two astronauts with Ohio ties, Nancy Currie and Richard Linnehan carried Ohio state quarters into space on the shuttle Columbia on an 11 day mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. Inscription: Birthplace of Aviation Pioneers.
Ohio 50 State Quarter
The Ohio quarter, the second quarter of 2002 and seventeenth in the series, honors the state's contribution to the history of aviation, depicting an early aircraft and an astronaut, superimposed as a group on the outline of the state. The design also includes the inscription "Birthplace of Aviation Pioneers."
The claim to this inscription is well justified - the history making astronauts Neil Armstrong and John Glenn were both born in Ohio, as was Orville Wright, co-inventor of the airplane. Orville and his brother, Wilbur Wright, also built and tested one of their early aircraft, the 1905 Flyer III, in Ohio.
On May 1, 2000, Governor Bob Taft requested design concepts from Ohioans for the state's quarter. The Governor established an 11-member Ohio Commemorative Quarter Program Committee that requested ideas from all Ohioans and received 7,289 submissions. The Committee's six favorite candidates were posted on its website for vote. Some 40,000 votes later, the top four concepts were submitted to the Mint. These include state symbols, aviation and aerospace, birthplace of aviation and the spirit of invention. From the United States Mint's candidate designs, Governor Taft selected the "Birthplace of Aviation Pioneers."
Source: United States Mint's 50 State Quarters Program
