Coin News - First U.S. Coin with a Spanish Inscription

by Eva Duke
(Texas)

Here is some new and exciting coin news for the collectors of statehood quarters or for the beginner looking for a great series to collect.

The United States Mint has released the first ever US Coin with a Spanish inscription. The twenty-five cent coin honors Puerto Rico as the "Isla del Encanto" — or "Island of Enchantment", and is one of six quarters honoring the United States Territories and D.C. that will be released in 2009.

The quarter honoring the District of Columbia was released earlier this year. The other quarters scheduled for release in 2009 include quarters honoring Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands.

The District of Columbia and United States Territories Quarter Program follows immediately behind the 50 States Commemorative Coin Program which honored each of the 50 United States of America.

The statehood quarters first began appearing in 1999 and finished up in 2008 with five states honored each of those years. The quarters were introduced in the order in which each state joined the union. This coin series was so successful that it has been extended to include the District of Columbia and the U.S. Territories in 2009.

But it doesn't stop there! Beginning in 2010, the state quarter program will begin all over again with the America's Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin Program. This time the U.S. Mint will produce quarters showing a national site from each of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia and each US territory.