Commemorative State Quarter
for Pennsylvania

Coin Issued: March 8, 1999 - the 2nd coin released in 1999

Statehood: December 12, 1787 - the 2nd State

Inscriptions: "Pennsylvania 1787", "Virtue, Liberty, Independence"

Description: The coin features the statue "Commonwealth", with the outline of Pennsylvania in the background. A keystone is located in the upper left corner. To the right is the State Motto: "Virtue, Liberty, Independence".

Since 1905, the statue "Commonwealth" has been located on top of the capital dome (in Harrisburg). The left hand holds a staff representing justice.

At the bottom of the coin is the issue date (1999) 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 Pennsylvania Quarter:

Obverse Inscriptions:

Coin Specifications:

Number of Pennsylvania Quarters Minted:

America-the-Beautiful Quarter Series:

The quarter for the Gettysburg National Military Park (located in south-central Pennsylvania) were issued in 2011, the second coin issued in 2011 and the 6th coin (of 56) in the America-the-Beautiful Quarter series.

The following quarters were issued in 2011: Gettysburg National Military Park (Pennsylvania), Glacier National Park (Montana), Olympic National Park (Washington), Vicksburg National Military Park (Mississippi) & Chickasaw National Recreation Area (Oklahoma).