Florida State Quarter

There are two US coins related to Florida, the Florida State quarter and the Everglades National Park quarter.

Florida State Quarter

The US Mint started producing commemorative 25¢ quarters for each US State in 1999. The quarters were minted in the order in which the States ratified the US Constitution or joined the Union.

The Florida State Quarter is the 27th in the series and was the second to be released in 2004 following a competition to decide upon the design in which some 420,000 Floridians voted.

It is estimated that over a period of 10 weeks starting on March 1, 2004, some 480 million Florida State Quarters were produced.

The Florida State Quarter is entitled “Gateway to Discovery” and shows a space shuttle, a 16th century Spanish galleon and two sabal palm trees.

The space shuttle represents modern day exploration and the galleon represents the early Spanish explorers to the region.

The Spanish explorer, Ponce de Leon arrived in Florida at Easter in 1513. He named the region Pascua Florida meaning Flowery Easter.

Everglades National Park Quarter

From November 3, 2014 you may find a new Florida related 25¢ quarter in your change. The Everglades National Park quarter depicts an anhinga spreading its wings on a willow branch with a roseate spoonbill in the background and was one of six designs submitted for consideration.

The “America The Beautiful Quarters” program has been running since 2010 and the Everglades coin is the 25th in the series. By the time the series ends in 2021, it will feature a total of 56 national parks and monuments.

The Everglades is the only Florida related park included in the series and joins the Florida State Quarter.