Kansas' two bits roll todayBY BECCY TANNER
The Wichita Eagle
The Kansas quarter is about ready to roll into circulation.
State officials are in Denver today to watch as the quarter is minted there.
It will be released Sept. 9 at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson, though proofs of the coin are already available to collectors.
Between 400 million and 500 million Kansas quarters will be made and will be circulated for up to 30 years, U.S. Mint officials said.
The coin is expected to be highly collectible, said David Sorrick of Pittsburg, vice president of the Kansas Numismatic Association and a member of the steering committee for the quarter's debut.
Its clean design -- with a bison flanked by sunflowers and the words "Kansas 1861" -- work in the quarter's favor, he said. It was chosen from more than 1,500 ideas submitted by people throughout the state.
"It will be very hot," Sorrick said.
Michael Martinez, assistant manager of Phil's Coins on West Central in Wichita, said a lot of people have shown interest in the quarter.
"I don't think it's a bad-looking design," he said.
Some people liked the coin and others weren't so excited.
"It's 50-50," Martinez said. "Some people say it's too plain; others like it because it is so simple."
Jennie Becker, a Wichita artist and member of both the state coin commission and the steering committee for the quarter's debut, said several Kansans have been invited to the striking ceremony todayat the Denver Mint.
They include Lt. Gov. John Moore and members ofthe Kansas Quarter Commission.
Eric Engstrom, a Wichita historian and coin collector, is one of them.
"I feel proud of our design," he said. "It is a crisp, clean design that evokes the state."
Some state's quarters are more popular than others.
Fewer coins were issued for some states -- Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Georgia -- which makes them in demand for collectors.
Wisconsin's is popular because of an error on some of the first coins, Martinez said, and some sold for $400 to $500 -- but now people can buy them for under $100.
"Most people who wanted an error quarter have already bought them," Martinez said. "The thing about error coins is that you never can tell how rare it will be. You don't know if they made a hundred of them or a million."
When the Kansas quarter is issued, he expects to sell 150 rolls -- what he orders initially for each state.
The release Sept. 9 will be free and open to the public, and fair admission that day will be free before 11 a.m. Everyone under age 18 will receive a Kansas quarter, and the public can buy $10 rolls and limited edition commemorative items.
The event will draw Bill Kurtis, a native Kansan and nationally known TV documentary host and producer; Gov. Kathleen Sebelius; and the director of the U.S. Mint.
Kansas schools will participate along with Kansas poet laureate Jonathan Holden; Dennis Rogers, American Indian dancer and storyteller; Buffalo soldiers; and Kansas 4-H clubs.
"There will be a lot of historic moments," Becker said. "This is a one-time deal. It's a one-time opportunity for each state to get it right. And we are working real hard to do that."
The Kansas quarter will be the fourth quarter released in 2005 and the 34th in the "50
State Quarters" program.
Sorrick said it will be the second coin this year to depict a bison. The first was a nickel in the Mint's Westward Journey series.
The two coins are reminiscent of the
Buffalo nickels, also known as Indian-head nickels, minted from 1913 to 1938.
Posted 07/18/2005 08:21 am
