Hello Folks and fellow Numismatists. Today, we will continue our road trip around the United States, reaching Arkansas. Arkansas is the 25th state in the Union. Arkansas is considered a flyover by many, not to dull but not worth a stop. However, one of the 61 National Parks (Hot Springs) are located here. A hotbed of Civil Rights, Little Rock High, is located. And in the dull part of Arkansas, lies a little place called Hope, birthplace of the 42nd President, Bill Clinton.Anyways, into coinage now.The 50 state quarter for Arkansas features a diamond and a swan, images representing the state slogan, the "Natural State".  The design is one of the first done by the Artistic Infusion Program (AIP) and is considered one of the series better designs.The America the Beautiful Coin featuring Hot Springs National Park was oddly the first in the series on 56 Quarters. The design is the design outside one of the bathhouses, presumably Fordyce. The door is inlaid with tiles. If you look carefully to the right of the water trough, the NPS arrowhead is on the wall. Very cool. Let us now head way back in time, to the late 1930's, during the height of the Commemorative Craze. From 1935-1939, two coins were produced celebrating the 100th birthday of Arkansas. The first was the Arkansas Centennial Half. The state name surrounded by the stars in on the front. On the back is an Indian chief and liberty with the Liberty Cap. The constant mintage was another money milker, as more years on sale=more money in the commissions pocket.The second coin was the Arkansas Centennial-Robinson Half Dollar.  This time, the coin was issued by Stack's in NYC. The front was the same, but the back featured Senator Joseph P. Robinson. A note about both- the side with the people is the reverse, but many pictures have the sides switched. So be it.Thanks, and see you next week.

Welcome to Arizona, home of the greatest ditch in the ground known to man. This week, we will visit the state of Arizona.Arizona, pre-1850, was owned by Mexico. Many missions were located in the state. The Mormons under Brigham Young settled the area, founding Tempe, Mesa, and Phoenix.   After the Mexican's surrendered after the fall of Mexico City, the Territory of Arizona was ceded to the US in the terms of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hildago. In 1856, the government made the Gadsden Purchase, creating the border of Arizona as we know it today. With the addition of Arizona as a territory, the native population was mostly shoved out of Arizona. About 25% of land is reservation land today in Arizona.In 1912, Arizona became the 48th state, the last of the lower 48 to achieve statehood.  Famous citizens include Barry Goldwater, Geronimo, and Stewart Udall.First to mind in coins is the 50 State Series and the America the Beautiful Quarter. Both feature the Grand Canyon, as it is the state's most prominent landmark. The 50 state quarter also features a Saguaro, the giant cactus.  Both are considered to be one of the best modern coin designs.While we are on the subject of coinage, before Arizona belonged to the US of A the place belonged to Mexico. Mexico, in the First Republic (before the insane Austrian named Maximilian declared himself king) used coins also. Many of these coins look like the Gobrecht $1 Gold Dollar pattern, featuring a liberty cap with radiating sun rays around it. There are other coins, but many of the Mexican First Republic coins feature the liberty cap, symbolic of the country's victory over the Spanish.The Mormons also created coinage golden coinage for the territory they had settled in. They are not very elaborate pieces, stamped "Deseret" (the name for the polygamous, Mormon state) with the beehive stuck to them. Next up next week- Arkansas! See ya!