Commemorative State Quarter
for California

Coin Issued: January 31, 2005 - the 1st coin released in 2005

Statehood: September 9, 1850 - the 31st State

Inscriptions: "California 1850", "Yosemite Valley"

Description: The Naturalist John Muir overlooking Yosemite Valley and Half Dome, with a California Condor in flight. Below Half Dome is the inscription "Yosemite Valley". To the left of John Muir is the inscription "John Muir".

In 1868, John Muir made his home in Yosemite Valley. He devoted his life to conservation, publishing 10 books and over 300 articles on Naturalism and Conservation. In the early 1890's, John Muir helped to form the Sierra Club. He served as the Sierra Club's President until his death in 1914.

To protect Yosemite, Congress established Yosemite National Park in 1890.

As the result of a successful breeding program, the nearly extinct California Condor has been re-introduced to rural central California. To help protect against catastrophic loss, a colony of Condors has been established at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon (in northwest Arizona).

At the bottom of the coin is the issue date (2005) 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 State-side of the Quarter) was created by Don Everhart (search an actual coin for the engraver's initials: 'de').

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.

Number of Coins Minted:

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