The United States colony of Puerto Rico may be as American as apple pie but is unique in a way that only this beautiful tropical island can be. The Taino inhabited the island for thousands of years prior to explorer Christopher Columbus staking a claim there for Spain in 1493. After four centuries of European colonization, Spain ceded Puerto Rico to the United States as a result of the Spanish-American War.
A civil government was instituted in 1900, and in 1917 all of the island’s inhabitants were declared citizens of the United States. Since July 25, 1952, Puerto Rico has officially been a United States commonwealth. Talk has swirled for decades that Puerto Rico may one day be admitted to the U.S. as a state. Yet, whether or not that happens, Puerto Rico will always retain its own beauty – an amalgamation of diverse cultures that include the island’s indigenous peoples, Europeans, Africans, and others who call the place home.
As many both in Puerto Rico and in the mainland United States hope to one day see Puerto Rico become a state (perhaps the 51st), the island already saw inclusion in one of the most important United States sovereign coin programs. In 2009, Puerto Rico was celebrated as part of the District of Columbia and United States Territories Quarters Program. The one-year-only series, serving as an annex to the successful, decade-long 50 States Quarters initiative that ended in 2008, honored the six geographical entities claimed by the United States but that aren’t fully states themselves.
The reverse of the 2009 Puerto Rico Quarter depicts an Old San Juan sentry box that peers over the surrounding waters. Just to the right of this military installation is seen a gorgeous Flor de Maga, which resembles the common hibiscus and is a beloved symbol for Puerto Rico. Upon the coin’s release, then-Director of the United States Mint Ed Moy said, “Puerto Rico's striking quarter design evokes its tropical beauty, rich history and culture. With San Juan Bay as the background of the coin, the hibiscus [sic] flower and 16th-century sentry box remind us that Puerto Rico stands for 'rich port.'"