The Tennessee Quarter
The Tennessee quarter, the first quarter of 2002 and sixteenth in the series, celebrates the state's contributions to our nation's musical heritage. The design incorporates musical instruments and a score with the inscription "Musical Heritage." Three stars represent Tennessee's three regions and the instruments symbolize each region's distinct musical style. Musical Heritage The fiddle represents the Appalachian music of east Tennessee, the trumpet stands for the blues of west Tennessee for which Memphis is famous, and the guitar is for central Tennessee, home to Nashville, the capital of country music. Choosing the Design On March 27, 2000, Governor Don Sundquist announced a statewide contest for students, artists, and citizens to submit design concepts by June 1, 2000. The state received nearly 1,000 submissions. A seven-person Tennessee Coin Commission that the governor created sent its three favorite concepts to the Mint on June 28, 2000. These included Musical Heritage, Ratification of the 19th Amendment and Sequoyah, the creator of the Cherokee writing system. On June 26, 2001, the Mint provided Governor Sundquist with five approved renditions of the concepts, from which he chose "Musical Heritage." The 50 State Quarter ProgramSigned into law in 1997, the 50 States Commemorative Coin Program Act has become the most successful numismatic program in American history, with roughly half of the U.S. population collecting the coins, either in a casual manner or as a serious pursuit. The program produces five different reverse designs each year for ten years—each representing a different state—the order of which is determined by the order states were admitted to the Union. Design concepts are submitted to the Secretary of the Treasury by state governors for final approval. The obverse of each quarter is a slight redesign of the quarter's previous design. The cost to manufacture a quarter is about 5 cents, providing a profit of approximately 20 cents per coin. So far, the federal government has made a profit of $4.6 billion from collectors taking the coins out of circulation. In 2009, the U.S. Mint launched a separate program issuing quarters commemorating the District of Columbia and various U.S. territories.
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	PROFILE
	Release Date:	January 2, 2002
	Design:	Fiddle Trumpet Guitar Three stars Sheet music
	Captions:	"Musical Heritage"
	Designer:	Shawn Stookey
	Engraver:	John Mercanti
	Mintage:	Denver Mint   - 286,468,000 Philadelphia Mint   - 361,600,000 Total   - 648,068,000
	SPECIFICATIONS
	Denomination:	Quarter Dollar
	Composition:	Copper Nickel alloy 91.67% Cu 8.33% Ni
	Weight:	2.000 oz (5.670 g)
	Diameter:	0.955 in (24.26 mm)
	Thickness:	0.07 in (1.75 mm)
	Edge:	Reeded
	No. of Reeds:	119
	Data Source: The U.S. Mint.