The Ohio Quarter
The Ohio quarter, the second quarter of 2002 and seventeenth in the series, honors the state's contribution to the history of aviation, depicting an early aircraft and an astronaut, superimposed as a group on the outline of the state. The design also includes the inscription "Birthplace of Aviation Pioneers." Aviation PioneersThe claim to this inscription is well justified—history-making astronauts Neil Armstrong and John Glenn were both born in Ohio, as was Orville Wright, co-inventor of the airplane. Orville and his brother, Wilbur Wright, also built and tested one of their early aircraft, the 1905 Flyer III, in Ohio. Choosing the DesignOn May 1, 2000, Governor Bob Taft requested design concepts from Ohioans for the state's quarter. The governor established an 11-member Ohio Commemorative Quarter Program Committee that requested ideas from all Ohioans and received 7,289 submissions. The committee's six favorite candidates were posted on its website for vote. Some 40,000 votes later, the top four concepts were submitted to the Mint. These include state symbols, aviation and aerospace, birthplace of aviation, and the spirit of invention. From the United States Mint's candidate designs, Governor Taft selected the "Birthplace of Aviation Pioneers." 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:	March 18, 2002
	Design:	Wright Flyer Astronaut State outline
	Captions:	"Birthplace of Aviation Pioneers"
	Designer:	Donna Weaver
	Engraver:	Donna Weaver
	Mintage:	Denver Mint   - 414,832,000 Philadelphia Mint   - 217,200,000 Total   - 632,032,000
	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.