The 50 State Quarters program, which ran from 1999 through 2008, introduced special designs honoring each of the 50 states in the order they were admitted to the Union. This naturally led to Pennsylvania gaining early visibility in the 50 State Quarters program – it was behind only the Delaware Quarter, which was the first coin in the popular commemorative series as Delaware was the first state to officially join the Union. As the second coin in the series, the Pennsylvania Quarter enjoyed some time in the spotlight as the “first ‘next’” coin in the series, which sustained much anticipation both in the numismatic community and well beyond.
The Pennsylvania Quarter was released on March 8, 1999, and features on its reverse the statue known as Commonwealth. It was placed atop the dome of the Pennsylvania state capitol on May 25, 1905. Commonwealth’s right arm extends outward as a gesture of mercy, while her left arm secures a ribbon mace representing justice. The design also incorporates the geographical outline of the state of Pennsylvania with a small keystone design inset within the upper left corner of the state outline to symbolize the state’s nickname: “The Keystone State.” The inscriptions “VIRTUE, LIBERTY, INDEPENDENCE” hearken to the state’s motto.
The Pennsylvania Quarter was struck to the tune of more than 700 million. Most of these are copper-nickel clad circulation strikes, with 349,000,000 produced at the Philadelphia Mint and Denver rolling out another 358,332,000. More than 4.5 million proofs were also struck; the San Francisco Mint made 3,713,359 examples in copper-nickel clad, while the “S” Mint also produced 804,565 in a 90% silver format. At the end of the day, the Pennsylvania Quarter is a wholly common coin in most grades, with the copper-nickel clad business strikes proving rare in grades above PCGS MS67.