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Exploration Heritage To Grace Florida QuarterPosted: 11:28 a.m. EST March 6, 2003 With over 400,00 votes tallied, Florida will be represented on the U.S. Mint's commemorative quarter by the "Gateway to Discovery" design featuring a 16th century Spanish galleon and the 20th century space shuttle.
A design featuring a great white heron in the everglades got 92,667 votes, a second design featuring the space shuttle received 69,029 votes, and a quarter picturing a sailfish had 34,297 votes. Gov. Jeb Bush unveiled the winner Thursday morning at Tallahassee's Union Bank, the state's oldest surviving bank building. "I am delighted by the overwhelming response we received from Florida's residents," Bush said. "Our residents should be proud to know that citizens nationwide will soon be carrying a symbol of our state's history." It's the culmination of a process that began more than a year ago. A review committee choose 10 finalists from more than 1,500 designs submitted, and the governor narrowed the list to the five that were put up for three weeks of voting by Florida residents. The mint issued the first five state quarters under the Fifty State Quarters Program in 1999, and will continue to issue five quarters every year in the order in which the states ratified the Constitution or were admitted into the Union. In 1845, Florida became the 27th state to be admitted into the Union. Each quarter's reverse side celebrates one of the 50 states with a design honoring its unique history, traditions and symbols. The "Gateway to Discovery" design will be sent to the mint, which is expected to put the Florida quarter in circulation by next spring.
Copyright 2003 by Local6.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
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The design by Ralph Butler of Bayonet Point received 123,515 votes on the state's Web page and through the mail. The "Oldest City" design by Jacksonville resident Jack Leudke finished second, receiving 104,838 votes. 