The Last States Quarters Proof Set

The United States Mint 50 State Quarters Proof Set™, honoring states in the order in which they were admitted into the Union, is now in its final year. The latest collection features five new quarter designs: Oklahoma's “Scissortail Flycatcher,” New Mexico' “Land of Enchantment,” Arizona’s “Grand Canyon State,” Alaska’s “The Great Land,” and Hawaii’s “King Kamehameha I.”

The Oklahoma quarter went on sale in January, followed by the New Mexico quarter earlier this month. The Mint has yet to release launch dates for the remaining coins.

The copper-nickel proof is priced at $13.95. The silver proof set goes for $25.95.

The celebrated proof coins, struck in 90 % silver, have been rendered a sharp relief and mirror-like background. That contrasts with the frosted, sculpted foregrounds, which lend them a special cameo effect. Proof blanks are specially treated, polished, and cleaned to ensure high-quality strikes, before they are fed into presses fitted with specially polished dies and struck at least twice to ensure sharp, high relief.

Its appearance was triggered by the 50 States Commemorative Coin Program Act that became law on December 1, 1997. Since its launch, five reverse designs have appeared each year. The quarters, sporting landmarks, landscapes, historical buildings, icons, resource symbols, and flora and fauna associated with each state, are being produced at the United States Mint at Philadelphia and Denver. The proof versions are produced at the San Francisco facility, according to a U.S. Mint release.