DANIEL WEBSTER | Coins

With the release of the Mississippi quarter in October, the state quarter program has completed its fourth year.
The program is the most popular in U.S. coinage history, involving both schoolchildren and serious collectors. This has raised awareness of coins as an expression of aspects of American culture.
Although not many of the designs have won admiration as art, all have expressed through iconography something important to residents of the states.
The next quarter, Illinois, will appear in January.
Missouri's coin, the subject of an extravagant protest by the artist who designed it, is being voted on by state residents this month.
Artist Paul Jackson submitted the winning design, then howled when mint engravers altered it to meet the demands of efficient minting. Jackson carried his protest to Washington, then printed paper replicas of his design and pasted them on circulating quarters in Missouri.
The quarrel brought politicians into the fray. Now, Gov. Bob Holden is showing the final designs on his Web site. Residents had until Thursday to vote on their preference. Collectors can keep track of the voting and the results at www.gov.state.mo.us.
XDaniel Webster is a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Bureau closing
Once the main source of authentication for coins, the American Numismatic Association's Authentication Bureau is closing its doors. The unit opened in 1972 as a means of detecting counterfeits. In 1978, it began grading coins, establishing standards to make coin evaluation more scientifically uniform.
The association sold its grading service in 1990, but retained a service under which it would offer diagnostic reports and references for any coin, medal or money in any form. However, the rise of private grading and authentication services has made it impractical for the ANA to continue the service.
The association will continue to publish its quarterly Counterfeit Coin Bulletin. Queries go to the ANA, 818 N. Cascade Ave., Colorado Springs, CO 80903, or to www.money.org.
Exhibit
The exhibit "Show Me the Money," which closes next Sunday in Colorado Springs, Colo., has drawn unusual interest. The exhibit features 40 works including pieces by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Robert Dowd depicting currency or coinage. The show grew out of a 1986 competition in New Orleans in which artists were asked to design a new dollar bill.