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62-458: The 50 State quarters (authorized by Pub. L.   105–124 (text) (PDF) , 111  Stat.   2534 , enacted December 1, 1997 ) was a series of circulating commemorative quarters released by the United States Mint . Minted from 1999 through 2008, they featured unique designs for each of the 50 US states on the reverse . The 50 State Quarters Program was started to support

124-644: A slip law and in the United States Statutes at Large after receiving the act. Thereafter, the changes are published in the United States Code . Through the process of judicial review , an act of Congress that violates the Constitution may be declared unconstitutional by the courts. A judicial declaration that an act of Congress is unconstitutional does not remove the act from the Statutes at Large or

186-545: A new generation of coin collectors , and it became the most successful numismatic program in US history, with roughly half of the US population collecting the coins, either in a casual manner or as a serious pursuit. The US federal government so far has made additional profits of $ 3 billion from collectors taking the coins out of circulation . In 2009, the US Mint began issuing quarters under

248-568: A range of $ 2.6 billion to $ 5.1 billion. (At the end of the program, the Mint estimated the actual increase in seigniorage to be $ 3 billion.) The Mint also estimated the program would earn $ 110 million in additional numismatic profits. (The final, post-program estimate was $ 136.2 million.) The Mint used these estimates to support the proposed program, and the legislation enacting the 50 States Quarters program cited these estimates. Act of Congress#Public law, private law, designation An act of Congress

310-461: A smaller leaf, others feature a small leaf pointing upwards, and still others have the leaf bending down. A set of all three quarters sold on eBay in February 2005 for $ 300 and initially saw significant increases, such as $ 1500 for individual coins, but as of February 2020 PCGS lists the value of MS-62 specimens from $ 92 to $ 130 each. Another die cast error ran with the first Delaware quarters. Being

372-780: A stable currency. Orthodox economists counter that deflation is difficult to control once it sets in, and its effects are more damaging than modest, consistent inflation. Banks (or governments) relying heavily on seigniorage and fractional reserve sources of revenue may find them counterproductive. Rational expectations of inflation take into account a bank's seigniorage strategy, and inflationary expectations can maintain high inflation. Instead of accruing seigniorage from fiat money and credit, most governments opt to raise revenue primarily through formal taxation and other means The 50 State Quarters series of quarters (25-cent coins) began in 1999. The U.S. government thought that many people, collecting each new quarter as it rolled out of

434-528: A substantial role and considerable discretion in determining the design that would represent their state. The majority of states followed a process by which the governor solicited the state's citizens to submit design concepts and appointed an advisory group to oversee the process. Governors submitted three to five finalist design concepts to the Secretary of the Treasury for approval. Approved designs were returned to

496-415: A year, and redeems it in gold. That person began with and ends up with exactly one ounce of gold. In another scenario, instead of issuing gold certificates a government converts gold into non- gold standard based currency at the market rate by printing paper notes. A person exchanges one ounce of gold for its value in that currency , keeps the currency for one year, and exchanges it for an amount of gold at

558-546: Is a statute enacted by the United States Congress . Acts may apply only to individual entities (called private laws ), or to the general public ( public laws ). For a bill to become an act, the text must pass through both houses with a majority, then be either signed into law by the president of the United States , be left unsigned for ten days (excluding Sundays) while Congress remains in session, or, if vetoed by

620-481: Is controversial. According to Porter and Judson, 53 to 67 percent was overseas during the mid-1990s. Feige estimates that about 40 percent is abroad. In a New York Federal Reserve publication, Goldberg writes that "about 65 percent ($ 580 billion) of all banknotes are in circulation outside of the country". These figures are largely contradicted by Federal Reserve Board of Governors Flow of Funds statistics, which indicate that $ 313 billion (36.7 percent) of U.S. currency

682-425: Is known as a " mule ". As of August 2019, only 19 of these specimens , produced on dollar planchets, are known to have escaped from the Mint. A 2005 Minnesota double die quarter, as well as a 2005 Minnesota quarter with extra trees (another die error), have both triggered numismatic interest. An unusual die break on some 2005 Kansas quarters created a humpback bison. Relatively more common are Kansas quarters bearing

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744-455: Is logistically more difficult than transporting cocaine because of its size and weight, and the ease of transporting its banknotes makes the euro attractive to Latin American drug cartels. The Swiss 1,000-franc note , worth slightly more than $ 1,000, is probably the only other banknote in circulation outside its home country. However, it does not have a significant advantage over the €500 note to

806-564: Is made by the third method, the presiding officer of the house that last reconsidered the act promulgates it. Under the United States Constitution , if the president does not return a bill or resolution to Congress with objections before the time limit expires, then the bill automatically becomes an act; however, if the Congress is adjourned at the end of this period, then the bill dies and cannot be reconsidered (see pocket veto ). If

868-417: Is retained as a store of value , since the entity values it more than the local currency. Foreign circulation generally involves large-value banknotes, and can be used for private transactions (some of which are illegal ). American currency has been circulating globally for most of the 20th century, and the amount of currency in circulation increased several-fold during World War II . Large-scale printing of

930-410: Is sometimes used in informal speech to indicate something for which getting permission is burdensome. For example, "It takes an act of Congress to get a building permit in this town." An act adopted by simple majorities in both houses of Congress is promulgated , or given the force of law, in one of the following ways: The president promulgates acts of Congress made by the first two methods. If an act

992-401: Is sovereign revenue obtained through routine debt monetization , including expansion of the money supply during GDP growth and meeting yearly inflation targets. Seigniorage can be a convenient source of revenue for a government. By providing the government with increased purchasing power at the expense of public purchasing power, it imposes what is metaphorically known as an inflation tax on

1054-421: Is worth only a fraction as much. The silver proof sets of later years, while having some intrinsic and collector worth, are also priced far lower. The public is cautioned to research prices before buying advertised state quarter year or proof sets. In general, the program increased interest in quarter and general coin collecting. Large numbers of ads, quarter products and quarter information were available during

1116-476: The United States Federal Reserve ), seigniorage on banknotes is the interest payments received by central banks on the total amount of currency issued. This usually takes the form of interest payments on treasury bonds purchased by central banks, putting more money into circulation. If the currency is collected, or is otherwise taken permanently out of circulation, the currency is never returned to

1178-472: The United States Mint , would remove the coins from circulation. Each complete set of quarters (the 50 states, the five inhabited U.S. territories , and the District of Columbia ) is worth $ 14.00. Since it costs the mint about five cents to produce one quarter, the government made a profit when someone collected a coin. The Treasury Department estimates that it earned about $ 6.3 billion in seigniorage from

1240-513: The United States one-hundred-dollar bill began when the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991; production quadrupled, with the first trillion-dollar printing of the bill. At the end of 2008, U.S. currency in public circulation amounted to $ 824 billion and 76 percent of the currency supply was in the form of $ 100 bills (twenty $ 100 bills per U.S. citizen). The amount of U.S. currency circulating abroad

1302-428: The money supply causes a general rise in prices, due to the currency's reduced purchasing power. This is a reason offered in support of free banking , a gold or silver standard , or (at a minimum) the reduction of political control of central banks, which could then ensure currency stability by controlling monetary expansion (limiting inflation). Hard-money advocates argue that central banks have failed to attain

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1364-466: The nation's coinage . Castle's initial caution was resolved when Diehl suggested the coins be issued in the order the states entered the Union or ratified the Constitution . Delaware, Castle's home state, was the first state to ratify the Constitution, and would thus get to be the first state to have its quarter released. Castle subsequently held hearings and filed legislation to authorize the program. Despite

1426-481: The 125th anniversary of the country's Confederation with a series of commemorative 25-cent pieces representing each of its 12 (at the time) provinces and territories. The Canada 125 program sparked a revival of interest in coin collecting among Canadians, which led American numismatists to advocate for the United States Mint to create a similar series of coins representing U.S. states. In 1992, Congress passed

1488-604: The 1996 Atlanta Centennial Olympic Games Commemorative Coin Act. In addition to authorizing a series of commemorative coins marking the 1996 Summer Olympics , the law also established the Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory Committee (CCCAC) to consider ideas for future releases. After Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen appointed the committee in December 1993, several of its members, led by David Ganz, urged

1550-586: The 2009 District of Columbia and US Territories Program . The Territories Quarter Program was authorized by the passage of a newer legislative act, H.R. 2764 . This program features the District of Columbia , Puerto Rico , American Samoa , Guam , the United States Virgin Islands , and the Northern Mariana Islands . The 50 State Quarters program was initially inspired by a 1992 Royal Canadian Mint program, " Canada 125 ", marking

1612-502: The 2011 fiscal year. Occasionally, central banks have issued limited quantities of higher-value banknotes in unusual denominations for collecting; the denomination will usually coincide with an anniversary of national significance. The potential seigniorage from such printings has been limited, since the unusual denomination makes the notes more difficult to circulate and only a relatively-small number of people collect higher-value notes. Over half of Zimbabwe 's government revenue in 2008

1674-523: The 50 States Commemorative Coin Program Act, which instructed the creation of the 50 State quarters series to "honor the unique Federal Republic of 50 States that comprise the United States; and to promote the diffusion of knowledge among the youth of the United States about the individual states, their history and geography, and the rich diversity of the national heritage...", and to encourage "young people and their families to collect memorable tokens of all of

1736-473: The Mint established the Artistic Infusion Program in 2003, hiring more professional artists and engravers to create better-looking designs for all commemorative coins. The 50 State Quarters Program was the most popular commemorative coin program in United States history ; the United States Mint has estimated that 147 million Americans have collected state quarters and 3.5 million participated in

1798-582: The Rocky Mountains. The Mint's conversion of each state's proposal into the final design that was used on the quarter also drew criticism for being overly simplified or poorly rendered. Paul Jackson, whose design was chosen for the Missouri quarter and then pared down by the Mint, led a series of protests which included placing stickers with Jackson's original design on the reverses of 250,000 quarters and distributing them nationwide. In response to these criticisms,

1860-637: The States for the face value of the coins." While mintage totals of the various designs vary widely—Virginia quarters are almost 20 times as abundant as the Northern Marianas quarters—none of the regular circulating issues are rare enough to become a valuable investment. There was, however, a measure of collector interest over die errors in the Wisconsin quarter. Some designs from the Denver mint feature corn without

1922-509: The Treasury Department continued to oppose the program and declined to proceed with it without a congressional mandate to do so. In 1997, Congress issued that mandate in the form of S. 1228 , the 50 States Commemorative Coin Program Act, which was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on December 1, 1997. The 50 State quarters were released by the United States Mint every ten weeks, or five each year. They were released in

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1984-597: The Treasury Secretary. The media and public attention surrounding this process and the release of each state's quarter was intense and produced significant publicity for the program. In several cases, the process of creating and finalizing a design caused controversy in the represented state, with people and groups expressing disappointment that the design did not properly reflect their state. There were disputes over which state could lay claim to certain design elements that appeared in other states, such as an ear of corn or

2046-420: The Treasury's support, but Treasury officials found the projections to lack credibility (at the program's conclusion, the Mint estimated the program had earned $ 3 billion in additional seignorage and $ 136.2 million in additional numismatic profits). Diehl worked with Castle behind the scenes to move legislation forward despite the Treasury's opposition to the program. However, the Treasury suggested to Castle that

2108-498: The United States Code; rather, it prevents the act from being enforced. However, the act as published in annotated codes and legal databases is marked with annotations indicating that it is no longer good law. Seignorage "Monetary seigniorage" is where sovereign-issued securities are exchanged for newly printed banknotes by a central bank, allowing the sovereign to "borrow" without needing to repay. Monetary seigniorage

2170-503: The central bank; the issuer of the currency keeps the seigniorage profit by not having to buy back worn-out currency at face value. The solvency constraint of a standard central bank requires that the present discounted value of its net non-monetary liabilities (separate from monetary liabilities accrued through seigniorage attempts) be zero or negative in the long run. Its monetary liabilities are liabilities in name only, since they are irredeemable. The holder of base money cannot insist on

2232-615: The committee to endorse a state quarters program. Initially, Ganz found support from only Charles Atherton, from the Federal Commission on Fine Arts, and Dan Hoffman, a young numismatist from South Carolina who also served on the CCCAC. However, by 1995, the CCCAC finally endorsed the idea. The committee then sought the support of Representative Michael Castle ( R - Delaware ), chairman of the House Banking subcommittee with jurisdiction over

2294-418: The consulting firm Coopers and Lybrand to conduct the study in 1997, which confirmed the Mint's demand, seignorage, and numismatic profit projections for the program. Among other conclusions, the study found that 98 million Americans were likely to save one or more full sets of the quarters (at the program's conclusion, the Mint estimated that 147 million Americans collected the 50 state quarters). Nevertheless,

2356-517: The department should conduct a study to determine the feasibility of the program. With Diehl's advice, Castle accepted the Treasury's offer, and the agreement was codified in the United States Commemorative Coin Act of 1996 . The act also authorized the Secretary to proceed with the 50 States Quarters Program without further congressional action if the results of the feasibility study were favorable. The Treasury Department engaged

2418-412: The first model of state quarter made, the mint gave it a disproportionate weight causing vending machines to not accept it. The quarter die was quickly fixed. Some Delaware quarters appeared without the last E , now saying, "THE FIRST STAT". A major error occurred in 2000 when the reverse die of a Sacagawea dollar was combined with the obverse die of a state quarter on dollar-coin planchets to form what

2480-462: The interest value of what the issuer received. Historically, seigniorage was the profit resulting from producing coins. Silver and gold were mixed with base metals to make durable coins. The British pound sterling was 92.5 percent silver; the base metal added (and the pure silver retained by the government mint) was, less costs, the profit – the seigniorage. Before 1933, United States gold coins were 90 percent gold and 10 percent copper. To make up for

2542-400: The lack of gold, the coins were over-weighted. A one-ounce Gold American Eagle will have as much of the alloy as needed to contain a total of one ounce of gold (which will be over one ounce). Seigniorage is earned by selling the coins above the melt value in exchange for guaranteeing the weight of the coin. Under the rules governing the monetary operations of major central banks (including

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2604-462: The motto "IN GOD WE RUST." The United States produces proof coinage in circulating base metal and, since 1992, in separately sold sets with the dimes, quarters, and half-dollars in silver. For the silver issues, the 1999 set is the most valuable, being the first year of the series and with a relatively small mintage, although prices have significantly decreased since the 50 State Quarters Program ended. The set in base metal, of this or any other year,

2666-408: The new market value. If the value of the currency relative to gold has changed in the interim, the second exchange will yield less (or more) than one ounce of gold (assuming that the value, or purchasing power , of one ounce of gold remains constant through the year). If the value of the currency relative to gold has decreased, the person receives less than one ounce of gold and seigniorage occurred. If

2728-460: The non-Swiss; there are 20 times as many €500 notes in circulation, and they are more widely recognized. As a reserve currency , it makes up about 0.1% of the currency composition of official foreign-exchange reserves. Governments vary in their issuance of large banknotes; in August 2009, the number of Fr. 1,000 notes in circulation was over three times the population of Switzerland . For comparison,

2790-577: The number of circulating £50 banknotes is slightly less than three times the population of the United Kingdom; the Fr. 1,000 franc note is worth about £600. The British government has been wary of large banknotes since the counterfeiting Operation Bernhard during World War II , which caused the Bank of England to withdraw all notes larger than £5 from circulation. The bank did not reintroduce other denominations until

2852-445: The president rejects a bill or resolution while the Congress is in session, a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress is needed for reconsideration to be successful. Promulgation in the sense of publishing and proclaiming the law is accomplished by the president, or the relevant presiding officer in the case of an overridden veto, delivering the act to the archivist of the United States . The archivist provides for its publication as

2914-416: The president, receive a congressional override from 2 ⁄ 3 of both houses. In the United States, acts of Congress are designated as either public laws , relating to the general public, or private laws , relating to specific institutions or individuals. Since 1957, all Acts of Congress have been designated as "Public Law X–Y" or "Private Law X–Y", where X is the number of the Congress and Y refers to

2976-416: The public. Seigniorage is the positive return, or carry , on issued notes and coins (money in circulation). Demurrage , the opposite, is the cost of holding currency. An example of an exchange of gold for "paper" where no seigniorage occurs is when a person has one ounce of gold, trades it for a government-issued gold certificate (providing for redemption in one ounce of gold), keeps that certificate for

3038-497: The quarters during the program. Some countries' national mints report the amount of seigniorage provided to their governments; the Royal Canadian Mint reported that in 2006 it generated $ 93 million in seigniorage for the government of Canada . The U.S. government, the largest beneficiary of seigniorage, earned about $ 25 billion in 2000. For coins only, the U.S. Treasury received 45 cents per dollar issued in seigniorage for

3100-453: The redemption of a given amount into anything other than the same amount of itself, unless the holder of the base money is another central bank reclaiming the value of its original interest-free loan. Economists regard seigniorage as a form of inflation tax , returning resources to the currency issuer. Issuing new currency, rather than collecting taxes paid with existing money, is considered a tax on holders of existing currency. Inflation of

3162-430: The same order that the states ratified the Constitution or were admitted to the Union . Each quarter's reverse commemorated one of the 50 states with a design emblematic of its unique history, traditions, and symbols . Certain design elements, such as state flags , images of living persons, and head-and-shoulder images of deceased persons were prohibited. The authorizing legislation and Mint procedures gave each state

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3224-454: The selection of state quarter designs. By the end of 2008, all of the original 50 States quarters had been minted and released. The official total, according to the US Mint, was 34,797,600,000 coins. The average mintage was 695,952,000 coins per state, but ranged from Virginia's 1,594,616,000 to Oklahoma's 416,600,000. Demand was stronger for quarters issued early in the program. This was due to weakening economic conditions in later years and

3286-408: The sequential order of the bill (when it was enacted). For example, P. L. 111–5 ( American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 ) was the fifth enacted public law of the 111th United States Congress . Public laws are also often abbreviated as Pub. L. No. X–Y. When the legislation of those two kinds are proposed, it is called public bill and private bill respectively. The word "act", as used in

3348-430: The states for selection of a final design. States usually employed one of two approaches in making this selection. In 33 states, the governor selected the final recommended design, often based on the recommendations of advisory groups and citizens. In the other 17 states, citizens selected the final design through online, telephone, mail, or other public votes. US Mint engravers applied all final design concepts approved by

3410-550: The support of the director of the mint and the Treasury Secretary-appointed CCCAC, the Treasury Department opposed the 50 States Quarters Program, as commemorative coinage had come to be identified with abuses and excesses. The Mint's economic models estimated the program would earn the government between $ 2.6 billion and $ 5.1 billion in additional seignorage and $ 110 million in additional numismatic profits. Diehl and Castle used these profit projections to urge

3472-483: The term "act of Congress", is a common, not a proper noun . The capitalization of the word "act" (especially when used standing alone to refer to an act mentioned earlier by its full name) is deprecated by some dictionaries and usage authorities. However, the Bluebook requires "Act" to be capitalized when referring to a specific legislative act. The United States Code capitalizes "act". The term "act of Congress"

3534-427: The transport of larger amounts of money. One million dollars in $ 100 bills weighs 22 pounds (10 kg), and it is difficult to carry this much money without a briefcase and physical security. The same amount in €500 notes would weigh less than three pounds (1.4 kg), which could be dispersed in clothing and luggage without attracting attention or alerting security devices. In illegal operations, transporting currency

3596-436: The value of the currency relative to gold has increased, the person receives more than one ounce of gold and demurrage occurred; seigniorage did not occur. Ordinarily, seigniorage is an interest-free loan (of gold, for example) to the issuer of the coin or banknote. When the currency is worn out the issuer buys it back at face value, balancing the revenue received when it was put into circulation without any additional amount for

3658-402: The waning of the initial surge of demand when the program was launched. Another factor was the reassertion of the Treasury Department's opposition to the program. When the director's term ended in 2000, the Treasury proceeded to reduce and finally terminate the most effective elements of the Mint's promotional program despite the high return on investment they earned. In 1997, Congress passed

3720-459: The years the program ran. Home Shopping Network , Franklin Mint , and Littleton Coin Company were among the most prominent in ad space. Since the 50 State Quarters Program was expected to increase public demand for quarters which would be collected and taken out of circulation, the Mint used economic models to estimate the additional seigniorage the program would produce. These estimates established

3782-404: Was held abroad at the end of March 2009. Feige calculates that since 1964, "the cumulative seigniorage earnings accruing to the U.S. by virtue of the currency held by foreigners amounted to $ 167–$ 185 billion and over the past two decades seigniorage revenues from foreigners have averaged $ 6–$ 7 billion dollars per year". The American $ 100 bill has competition from the €500 note , which facilitates

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3844-451: Was reportedly seigniorage. The country has experienced hyperinflation ever since, with an annualized rate of about 24,000 percent in July 2008 (prices doubling every 46 days). The international circulation of banknotes is a profitable form of seigniorage. Although the cost of printing banknotes is minimal, the foreign entity must provide goods and services at the note's face value. The banknote

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