the john muir exhibit - state quarter
John Muir: California State Quarter
2016 NPS Centennial Commemorative Gold Coin 
2005 California State Quarter
The 2005 California State Quarter issued by the United States
Mint, depicts naturalist and conservationist John Muir admiring Yosemite Valley’s
monolithic granite headwall known as Half Dome with a soaring California condor.
On January 31, 2005, Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope released the following statement: "The Sierra Club applauds Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver for selecting the John Muir-Yosemite design for the California State Quarter. We also congratulate artist and Sierra Club member Garrett Burke for his winning design that pays such a wonderful tribute to California's natural and human heritage. John Muir literally coined conservation as we know it and so it's particularly fitting that we have placed him on the California quarter. Muir's relationship with Yosemite reminds us of the powerful connections that people have to nature, and how beautiful places can inspire us to reach incredible heights. That was essentially Muir's dream when he founded the Sierra Club over a century ago. John Muir's work is far from done. We still have spectacular coastline, cathedral forest, wild rivers and stunning desert, which are vulnerable but can be protected for future generations. I look forward to working with Governor Schwarzenegger and others to keep John Muir's legacy on a roll."
Comprehensive information about the California State Quarter, released on January
31, 2005:
On March 29, 2004, California Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his
selection of the John Muir- Yosemite design to represent the Golden State in
the U.S. Mint's 50 State Quarters ® Program. The design was adapted from
a concept by Garrett
Burke.
The U.S.
Mint released
the coins for only a ten-week period in early 2005. They are now found in
normal circulation, and through coin dealers.
The U.S. Mint began minting the state quarters since 1999 and has scheduled
five quarters to be released each year -- running from the Delaware quarter
on Jan. 4, 1999, until the Hawaii quarter on Aug. 21, 2008.
The California state quarter is the 31st in the series to be issued.
Coin Specifications:
• Standard
Weight = 5.670g
• Standard
Diameter = 0.955 in (24.26mm)
• Thickness
= 1.75 mm
• Edge = Reeded
• Composition
= Cupro-Nickel Clad (8.33% Nickel, Balance Cu)
Sierra
Club celebrates John Muir, Yosemite on California Quarter
Statement by Carl Pope, Executive Director (January 31, 2005 (archived page on archive.org WayBack Machine)
Check back on this page for frequent updates. Scroll down
for lots more information!
John Muir California State Quarter Images
All images courtesy of the U.S. Mint
The Governor's Selection and Process
About the California State Quarter Designers
- Garrett Burke - concept designer - artist
who conceived and submitted the winning coin concept
- Alfred Maletsky - recently retired U.S. Mint sculptor-engraver who rendered the design
- Don Everhart - sculptor - newly hired U.S. Mint sculptor-engraver who will model the final version of the coin
Audio
- California Quarter Unveiling Press Conference - with Maria Shriver, Dr. Kevin Starr, and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger - March 29, 2004 (mp3 format - 5.4 MB) (about 12 minutes) - Off-site link to Soundcloud.com
MP3 Embed from archive.org:
- Reporter's Notebook: Design Unveiled for California Quarter - Interview of Kevin Starr - KCRW's "Which Way, LA?" radio discussion between Award-winning moderator Warren Olney and legendary California State Librarian Dr. Kevin Starr - March 29, 2004. (off-site link)
- Coin Talk Radio Program - May 10, 2004
Audio no longer available.
Guests:
Garrett Burke, Winning Design Submitter
Sarah Dalton, Co-Coordinator, The California State Quarter Project
Segment 1: [Original in Windows Media Player]
Garrett and Sarah discuss their involvement in the Quarter Project.
Segment 2: [Original Windows Media Player]
The Design submission and selection processes are discussed.
Segment 3: [Original Windows Media Player]
Using the State Quarters as an educational tool.
California Quarter Collectibles
- United
States Mint Catalog - (
The United States Mint offered a variety of products, not only collectible
coins themselves, but various other collectibles featuring the California quarter,
including a collector spoon, a First Day Cover, and many related items. Many
of these may no longer be available from the U.S. Mint, but can be found on
Ebay and coin collector shops.
- 2005
United States Mint 50 State Quarters Proof Set™ - January 6,
2005 - from the United States Mint (off-site link).
- Fleetwood California Heritage
Eyewitness to History® Coin First Day
Cover
- California Official First Day Coin Cover - (U.S. Mint) (released
March 3, 2005
- California
State Quarter Bear - 1
- California
State Quarter Bear - 2
- Official California State Quarter Commemorative Holder
- Coins of America California
State Quarter Holder
- Yosemite Association, Yosemite Commemorative
Holder
- Sequoia Natural History Association, John Muir Stamp and California Quarter
Collectible Sheet
California Quarter Corn Mazes
California Quarter Sand Sculpture
- California Quarter
Sand Sculpture - East Beach, Dunbar, Scotland - July,
2009
- See also newspaper article: US
Muir coin designer in Dunbar - "AN AMERICAN [Garrett Burke] who designed
a 25 cent coin in memory of Dunbar-born conservationist John Muir has said
that East Lothian 'looks a million dollars'".
(offsite link - East
Lothian Courier, July 30, 2009) Note: this article incorrectly states
that Burke helped create the sand sculpture above, but everyone involves affirms
the sand sculpture was solely the creation of Jo Moulin and Duncan Smeed.
Volunteer Webmaster of the John Muir Exhibit, Harold Wood: harold.wood@sierraclub.org
Updated January 28, 2023
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