Coin Issued: March 12, 2001 - the 2nd coin released in 2001

Statehood: November 21, 1789 - the 12th State

Inscriptions: "North Carolina 1789", "First Flight"

Description: The coin features Wilbur and Orville Wright and the Wright Flyer at Kill Devil Hills (December 17th, 1903). Orville is piloting and Wilbur is in the right foreground. Above the Wright Flyer is the inscription "First Flight".

At the bottom of the coin is the issue date (2001) and the motto "E Pluribus Unum". The motto is Latin for "Out of Many, One", recognizing that out of the many colonies (or states) emerged a single nation.

Engravers: The Reverse design (the tail or State-side of the Quarter) was created by John Mercanti (search the coin for the engraver's initials: 'jm').

The original Observe design (the front or Washington-side of the Quarter) was created by John Flanagan and first appeared in 1932. For the 50 State Quarters series, Flanagan's design was modified by William Cousins: the portrait of Washington was slightly reduced to accomodate the moving of the legends from the Reverse to the Obverse.

Reverse Inscriptions for the North Carolina Quarter:

Obverse Inscriptions:

Coin Specifications:

Number of North Carolina Quarters Minted:

America-the-Beautiful Quarter Series:

The quarter for the Blue Ridge Parkway (which extends from Front Royal, VA in the north, through North Carolina to the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee) was issued in 2015, the third coin issued in 2015 and the 28th coin (of 56) in the America-the-Beautiful Quarter series.

The following quarters were issued in 2015: Homestead National Monument of America (Nebraska), Kisatchie National Forest (Louisiana), Blue Ridge Parkway (Virginia, North Carolina & Tennessee), Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge (Delaware) & Saratoga National Historical Park (New York).