Connecticut State Quarter
- Year of Issue: 1999
- Authorizing Legislation: Public Law 105-124
Background
The Connecticut State Quarter is the fifth coin in the 50 State Quarters Program. The U.S. Mint released it on October 12, 1999 as the fifth and final quarter of the year.
The quarter design shows the Charter Oak, the tree that hid the charter from Britain’s King Charles II in 1662. This charter established Connecticut’s boundaries and self-rule. In 1687, Captain Joseph Wadsworth saved the charter from the hands of the British, hiding it safely in this tree.
Even after Connecticut became a state in 1788, it continued to use the charter as its constitution. A new state constitution was adopted in 1965.
Connecticut Facts
Nickname: The Constitution State
Capital: Hartford
Statehood: January 9, 1788
Characteristics
The obverse (heads) design features the familiar image of George Washington by John Flanagan, used on the quarter since 1932.
The reverse (tails) design shows the Charter Oak tree, the hiding spot of Connecticut's 1662 charter from King Charles II and later state constitution.
Obverse Inscriptions
- UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
- LIBERTY
- IN GOD WE TRUST
- QUARTER DOLLAR
Reverse Inscriptions
- THE CHARTER OAK
- CONNECTICUT
- 1788
- 1999
- E PLURIBUS UNUM
Mint and Mint Mark
Artist Information
Obverse- Designer: John Flanagan and William Cousins
- T. James Ferrell